Bomb In A Birdcage
by North I-75
Summary: Anais - quiet, thoughtful, and a girl with a killer swing - finds herself traveling south with an acquaintance from home to survive and outwit the Creepers that began to plague Earth. There's only one problem, Anais can't live without insulin. Drabble Daryl x OC
1. The Glorious Dead

**The Glorious Dead**

Her name was Anais.

His name was Petyr. And Petyr had just saved her life.

The man stood above the limp body, blood and brain matter here and there all over the floor. Petyr's bat had a fine film of black stickiness on the end, a testimony to his accomplishment. The man looked over at Anais, her hands grasping the end of her shirt has she was holding it up to carry the contents in her shirt.

"What do you have there?" he asked her rather blankly, the white lab coat on his shoulders told her everything she needed to know. He was the pharmacist and she was taking his property. When Anais didn't answer and just stared back at him, Petyr walked forward and took a peek at the contents in her shirt.

Petyr didn't say a word as he gently took hold of her arm and had her follow him, "Do you have a vehicle?"

Anais nodded, Petyr gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't mind if I tag along? You could have use of me."

Anais didn't object. Petyr grabbed a few bags from the back office and began shoveling medications off of shelves and into the bag. Anais had stood and watched but grabbed a bag herself and stuffed her medication as well as others into the bag. "It's getting worse isn't it?"

His question had caught her off guard. She stared back at him, her silence was his answer. "You know, if we're going to be surviving this together you might want to start talking."

Anais bit the bottom of her lip. Petyr had just forced himself into her life. And he planned on staying. He was a pharmacist, she reasoned that was good a reason to bring him along anyway. But something about him made her feel safe, even if he hadn't been a doctor.

"Anais. My name is Anais."

Petyr smiled, "Well Anais, let's get this show on the road."

…

**A/N****: **Hello, glad you decided to take a peek at my little drabble-ish story for the Walking Dead. This has actually been a story I started a year and a half ago when I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and kind of needed an outlet to write about my frustrations with my predicament and the things I was feeling during those first few months. I'm fine now, I promise! So the main character is not myself, I promise you that. But she does exhibit some of the feelings I was going through a year ago… Any way. I just hope you enjoy this as much as I have since starting it.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	2. His Young Heart

**His Young Heart**

"I think it best we stay away from the big cities," Petyr shared as he took a meaningful glance at Anais, if only it was for a few seconds. His eyes ultimately went back to the map of Ohio in front of him. "Going south, as far south as we can."

"Why south?" Anais asked quietly. She was thinking. She was a thinker. That was the only reason she was quiet all the time. Petyr had grown accustom to that fact. And he appreciated it most times. Other's he would kill for her opinion.

"Power grids are out, Anais. Think about it. When winter strolls along we're not going to have heating when we hunker down. The farther south we go, the less heat we have to worry about getting when winter does roll along."

Petyr's reasoning was sound. Anais made a little hum before looking at the map. "We should get off at Loveland, hit state route 48 and go around the outskirts of Cincinnati then."

"So 48, then we run into 28 and hit up 132 and the others until we're south enough of the city and get back onto i-75."

"That is if it isn't crowded and blocked," Anais motioned with some assurance. "Either way we've got to find a way over the Ohio River."

The back of the car was filled with medication, food, blankets and pillows and assault weapons that they had raided from a gun shop. Neither knew how to use them but Petyr wasn't too concerned considering they were trying to keep out of sight and mind of the creepers. The bat and crowbar Anais had in her car were good enough for the mean time.

"You know this area pretty well," Petyr remarked. The tension in Anais's jaw would slacken and tense again as she continued to think.

"This was my hometown," she said quietly. Petyr gave a slight smile. "I'd ask you if you wanted to stop home but I feel as if we've already passed it haven't we?"

Anais's silence was Petyr's answer again. There was a slight guilt in his stomach but Petyr had to just smile, for her sake. They had been traveling together since Columbus. It was amazing how must Petyr didn't have to tell her on where to turn. But now that they were leaving the familiar and entering the unknown, Petyr would start to realize how much Anais would have to rely on him.

"When we get into Kentucky we're going to have to be on alert. Going into the Newport and Covington area will be dangerous."

"How 'bout we just follow the river east until we find a bridge," Petyr suggested as he looked down at the map again. "That way we won't have to worry about the city."

Anais nodded, "I would feel much better about that."

"Then we're aiming for Augusta, Kentucky." Petyr agreed.

The silence continued through the rest of the day. Petyr liked the sound of the girl humming next to him. It was comforting, such a simple sound. Every once in a while she'd ask if he'd want to listen to music. The first time he said it was okay, they didn't have too. But it was more for himself; he liked to listen to her. But then after the second time she asked, Petyr realized the music she was asking for was more for herself, something of a comfort. Petyr agreed to listen.

And so Anais slipped in a cd and the music played, Anais hummed, and Petyr smiled.

…

**A/N****:** Most of these chapters I've found I really enjoy writing out the growing relationship between Petyr and Anais. Their relationship is a key one for me, mainly because it's a resemblance between my brother and I but also because I find it amazing how people band together and grow strong relationships in these very terrible situations. This also was a small reminiscence of home, of not being able to go back but longing for it – memories, and thoughts of it. I find nostalgia can be a nice thing but in the end it will never get you where you need to be for the future.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	3. Safe and Sound

**Safe and Sound**

They stayed the night in a cabin somewhere in southern Kentucky. They were close to interstate 75, only a twenty minute drive, but they kept their distance still out of nervousness. The cabin was secured after taking out the only creeper in the area.

A small fire was started in the fire place and Anais put a pot of water over top to boil for their meal that night. A full sized bed was in the corner, deer pelts and taxidermy was everywhere. The pitiful kitchen lay in the opposite corner of the bed and the outhouse was only a minute walk from the cabin. It was minimal but it would serve its purpose for the night. The windows had already been boarded up and there was a slot on the door and the wall for a plank of wood to be settled in, to keep whatever was outside out.

"We should be safe for the night," Petyr reasoned as he sat next to Anais on the small makeshift couch. "I don't think people would be camping out in the Daniel Boone National Forest. That's the last place on their mind."

Anais just hummed in response. Petyr smiled.

Before the instant noodles were ready, Petyr took out the medication in Anais's backpack and began prescribing a dose with a syringe. Anais pulled up the side of her shirt and laid back, a distant look in her eyes. Petyr stuck the needle in the girl's side and pressed the medication into her. After pulling out the syringe Petyr gave the girl a reassuring rub on her back. "You're doing well," he told her as he packed the medication back up.

"We should hit another pharmacy before we go over the state line," Petyr told her. "We need to gather as much of it we can."

Anais nodded as she took one of the bowls she had set out for the both of them. The noodles were ready to be eaten.

Petyr gave a weary smile, "Anais, we can do this. Don't worry. You're not going to die while I'm around."

…

**A/N****:** Again I'm working on building the relationship between these two characters in this short bit. It's the small moments in life that really, I feel at least, bring people closer. The fact that Petyr is there, willing to help, with Anais and taking the initiative to take care of her says a lot and means a lot. So, anyway, on to the next.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	4. Wings of A Butterfly

**Wings of a Butterfly**

The first time Anais and Petyr came upon real people had been in Tennessee. They road interstate 75 down and tried their best to go around Knoxville but after passing the city, they were startled to find a family of three camped on the side of the road just outside of Sweetwater.

Petyr rolled the window down as Anais let the car rolled to a stop. The wife and husband came to the window, a little boy in the wife's hands. "Where are you from?" Petyr asked as he looked them over.

"Nashville, sir," the man said as he looked Anais and Petyr over, "And you?"

"I'm from Columbus, Ohio and she is from Cincinnati," Petyr nodded over to Anais. She stayed quiet as Petyr dealt with the interrogation.

"You're a long way from home," the man whistled. Petyr just smirked and looked back at the man's wife. "You stuck?"

"Not so much as stuck as I don't know where we are," the man explained with a sheepish expression. Petyr chuckled.

"You're a good twenty thirty minutes south of Knoxville," he told them. "Were you going anywhere in specific?"

"No, no." The man said wearily. "We're just looking for safety."

"Do you know how to shoot a gun?"

The man looked Petyr over with what looked like a scoffing notion. "Who doesn't in Tennessee?"

Petyr hummed, something he noted he was picking up from the one girl sitting next to him. "Would you want to join us? We're trying to head as south as south goes."

The husband looked to his wife, who was pleading in a silence that all could feel within the conversation. The little boy in the mother's arms gave his father a pitiful look, which was reason enough for the man. "My name's Dave, this is my wife Sarah and our boy Noah."

"I'm Petyr and this is Anais," Petyr greeted with a smile. "You got a lot with you?"

"No, no. We left with just the essentials," Dave said with a sigh. "It looks like you've been living in your car with all of that supply."

Anais parked the car as she popped the trunk open and began moving blankets and pillows, boxes of food and back packs of medication into the trunk. Petyr helped the family move the small bags they had into the trunk as well and allowed the family of three to settle into the back of the car. With the weight doubled, Anais reasoned they would have to stop and syphon gas. Until then, she would just focus on the road.

Petyr kept up with conversation as they crossed over the state line once more. The gas meter chimed with annoyance once it hit just above empty. Anais cringed and looked to Petyr. He grimace as well, then looked to the family. "We're going to have to stop for gas soon. I'm going to have you on lookout duty as Anais and I syphon for gas."

Dave nodded and calmed his wife down as Anais came upon the first car just outside of Dalton, Georgia. It was abandoned on the side of the road next to a semi hook up that had been tipped over. Quickly, Dave grabbed for the binoculars underneath the seat and took up patrol as Anais and Petyr took a gas can and clear plastic hose to start the process of taking the gas.

They were quick about it, getting the gas and putting it in the car. Dave got back into the car and they were off before even one monster could have seen them.

"What do you know about the biters?" Dave asked Petyr then as they got back onto the road.

"Biters? Hm hadn't thought of that one yet," Petyr chuckled. "The one thing I know about 'biters' is that whatever is infecting them is through the blood stream. Much like a raccoon with rabies biting a dog. And it's permanent until you hit them in the head, then they're dead dead."

"I've noticed they can smell us," Anais added. Petyr looked to her astounded. He had always wondered what she was thinking when they would take out these monsters. "I've considered rubbing remains on the outside of the car for a sort of repellant. But I figured every time it would rain it would just wash off. So I haven't tried."

The group was silent once more before coming upon the town of Calhoun, "We should stay in the State Park nearby," Petyr pointed to the large green area on the map. "There should be a cabin somewhere in there."

Petyr was right. There were actually four cabins and it was agreed upon that they should all just stay together in the same cabin for the night. There were no creepers in the area, which eased the group a bit as they took their packs in. The one bed in the cabin was given to Dave and his family. Petyr helped Anais carry another makeshift mattress over to the cabin for the both of them to sleep on the floor. Dave had started a small fire and Anais went to gather water.

Petyr looked over their choice of food for that evening. Noodles.

When Anais got back and heated up the water the group gathered around and watched as Anais poured the packets of noodles in.

Eating was their main objective before finishing boarding up windows and putting up a door blockade for the night.

Petyr's routine kicked in, he grabbed for Anais's medical bag and started with prescribing a dose of medication into the syringe. Noah was already lying in bed, so when Anais lay back for Petyr to inject her it was only Dave and Sarah that watched with curiosity.

"Are you sick?" Sarah asked, Anais shrugged.

Dave looked to Petyr for an explanation. Petyr only handed Dave the glass bottle to show the man. "I don't understand. What is this?"

Petyr took the bottle back and placed it in the bag, "Anais is a type one diabetic. She doesn't produce insulin like you and I do. Therefore when she eats she is in need of it and I have to help inject it into her blood stream to help her body function correctly."

Dave gave a weak smile, "You've a rough life ahead of you."

Anais just gave a shrug and began to pour herself a bowl of the noodles, "I've lived this far without a problem. I look forward to the challenge."

Dave and Sarah kept quiet as Petyr took up the conversation then, keeping the family occupied and helping to get a bowl of noodles for their son. Sleep was something all of them craved after the last cup of noodles was eaten. After Dave and Petyr boarded up the windows and blocked the door they all headed to their sections of the cabin. Anais hadn't had to share a bed with Petyr until now. It didn't bother her but she just happened to take note of it.

Petyr slipped out of his shoes and watched as Anais changed into a t-shirt. With her bare back to him, he took noticed of the decent sized tattoo of a blue butterfly. "What type is it?"

"Monarch," Anais answered quietly as she pulled her shirt over her head and down to cover the art on her shoulder blade. Petyr smiled and lay back onto his pillow as he watched Anais continued to fold her clothing. When she was finished she laid back and stared at the ceiling.

With the sheets over top of them, Petyr would have never noticed until he felt the soft skin of her hand grab for his. Fear.

Petyr turned to face her, brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and kissed her temple. Anais looked over at him and eventually closed her eyes. She was his responsibility now. It was strange. How she had wandered into his pharmacy, a customer had just died on the floor and came back to life, following her into his life. And with her shirt full of the only thing that was keeping her alive, Petyr had killed the one thing Anais had over looked. And from then on, after realizing this girl was putting her life into his hands, with his knowledge and his training, he was her protector. They were family now. And nothing would separate him from her. Nothing.

…

**A/N****:** I didn't want our two characters to go traveling south without seeing a soul along the way. To me that would be really fishing and not really aesthetically correct with the timeline. There are still going to be survivors, even if there are just a few now. But I thought it would be nice to add an additional family into the mix if it was only for a short while. People are still willing to help one another out at this point and I think that is important as characters to still show that. Again, still working through building that relationship between Anais and Petyr. Eventually you'll notice a change, like that between a brother and sister. But it's not something that should be immediate. Shit like that doesn't just happen overnight. So it's not going to happen over just for chapters. That would just be weird…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	5. Neck of the Woods

**Neck of the Woods**

The road was bare and there was a smell in the air that was offensive and reeked of petrol. "This doesn't settle well," Anais stated from the driver's seat. Petyr nodded, "I know what that is."

Dave and Sarah looked at Petyr expectantly, "It's the smell napalm gives off when burning."

The car was silent for a while. But Anais was getting nervous with how close they were getting to Atlanta. "Petyr."

"Just do as I say, we need to hit up a pharmacy anyway," Petyr said as they grew closer and closer. Finally Petyr asked Anais to take the exit to state route 278 where they drove west until they found a CVS or Walgreens. The stop was quick; Anais and Petyr went in through the back and had Dave stand guard. There was little left in the store and Anais quickly helped to grab what they could use. There was only two bottles of insulin left on the shelf. Anais bit her lip and looked to Petyr with concern, "Don't worry."

Petyr's reassurance was all she needed until Dave whistles quickly through the door, their sign to get out of there.

When they walked out there was a caravan of cars driving down the road. An RV was in the lead and slowed down when it noticed their group. Petyr walked forward and waved with an amount of enthusiasm that Anais envied. "Hey, you guys okay?"

Petyr smiled warmly at the old man that popped his head out of the window, "Yes, yes. Fine, we're just looking for medicine."

The old man looked back warily, "One of you bit?"

"No, no," Petyr insisted with a wave of his hands. "Just in case items, you know?"

The man looked them over once more then leaned out of his window to look at the car behind him. Petyr looked over at the car as well, the man inside nodded. Petyr wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but if he had to he would defend his group.

"Say, you going anywhere in particular? Would you like to tag along with us?" The white hair underneath the man's fishing hat somehow made Petyr feel safer.

"We were just heading south, as far south as south goes," Petyr said with a slight smile. "Hey Anais, how would you feel about following them?"

Anais walked forward, she stared at the man in the RV for a long moment, looking down the line at each car and the numbers in them. There was safety in numbers. Surely these people knew what they were doing and hopefully they were locals. Locals knew the area much better than she or the people in their group did. Anais gave a short nod before going back to the car and telling the others to get back in as well.

Before Dave could open the door a groan emitted from the depths of the CVS store. Anais was jumping over the car with her crowbar and wailing at the head of the creeper that had reached out for Dave. The action hadn't gone unnoticed by the new group, "We outta get out of here before more show up. Follow us if you're with us."

Anais looked to Dave and gave him a small pat on the back before heading back into the driver side. Petyr rushed over and hoped into the passenger seat. They were on the road thereafter, following the locals up back roads and through dirt paths until the terrain started resembling that of the valleys and hills of Anais's hometown. Nostalgia was her enemy.

The cars lined up on the side of the road, Petyr could see a quarry not too far off and the clearing was big enough to house tents and the RV. The large group of survivors started unpacking; some stared at the new comers. Petyr's group joined up with the elderly man again after parking. It seemed like introductions were needed, now that they had joined something much bigger than they anticipated.

The old man smiled and waved for the guy from earlier to come forward. "Shane, these are the new guys…"

"I'm Petyr, this is Anais, Dave, his wife Sarah and their boy Noah," Petyr named off one by one. Some of the older man's group started walking over for introductions as well. Dale introduced himself, then Shane their leader of sorts, Lori and her son Carl, T-dog and Jacquie, Amy and Andrea. There were others but they were too busy setting up a place to stay than wanting to get to know their new members.

"Y'all don't sound like you're from here," Shane admitted with an odd look about him. Anais stared at the man with a blankness that Petyr knew she was thinking. Shane took that in a different way though. "Where is it you're from?"

Petyr stepped up and gave a polite smile, "Anais and I are from Ohio and Dave and his family from Tennessee."

"Ohio?" Dale asked. "You're a long way from home."

Anais nodded, "As far south as south goes."

"Ah, you were saying that before," Dale pointed out. "What do you mean by that?"

"We figured when winter came along we'd find better shelter in the south, not so cold and we wouldn't have to work as hard for heat either. Ohio isn't the most ideal places in the winter, but it sure beats farther north." Petyr explained.

"And how long have you been on the road?" Shane asked looking between the people in the group.

Petyr looked to Anais, "I stumbled upon you… oh, four five days ago. That was in Columbus."

"I can't believe you made it down here that fast," Lori interrupted with amazement.

Anais grimaced, "You could get down here in one if it wasn't for the creepers around."

"Is it as bad up there as it is down here?"

"I don't think they were napalming our home if that's what you mean," Petyr chided with a slight smile. Lori and the others looked to each other with a tension that Petyr could only reason was from shock. It had only been last night since that scene had devastated so many people.

"Clearly a touchy subject," Petyr noted to Anais. The girl just smirked.

The leader of the new group let the newest members go to set up their own tents. Luckily Dave and Sarah were nice enough to have a smaller tent left over for Petyr and Anais, while they took the bigger one for their family. Petyr urged Anais to set it up over by the overlook of the quarry and the city. Anais didn't object.

Their supplies were placed into their tent as well as their bedding. The medical supplies were hidden under their pillows and sheets as well. Petyr made quick to talk with people around the camp, to see who were friendly enough to make friends with, while Anais took up eyeing the quarry.

She wasn't so sure what to do now that she had stopped moving for once in the past week. Things slowly started to creep up on her, thoughts she hadn't realized she'd suppressed so much that she'd nearly forgotten. What the hell just happened to her life?

One minute she was in an art school in Ohio and the next she was in a survival camp in the middle of Georgia. She had personally watched the end of one of her teacher's lives, then come back running after students. The next minute she was in her apartment gathering all that she could while hearing groans from the roommate's upstairs bedroom. Anais knew the only way for her to survive was to hit up a pharmacy and then seek shelter in the most secluded area in the States. But things were side tracked, people were added, and now she was here, alone and afraid for once.

Anais hid her eyes in her sleeves attempting to hide her shame from the rest of the world.

…

**A/N****:** So now we're on track with the Atlanta camp. I know it took a couple of chapters but I find stories become bland the instant a writer does that. Especially in the first chapter… that drives me nuts. Though I'm sure there are readers out there that love that kind of 'writing' but I'm not that type of writer. Sorry, if that was what you're looking for.

Anyway, the pace will pick up and slow down depending on the chapter. It is a drabble after all. I love short comical scenes when I can make them. Though this is a tragedy story I feeling allowing little moments of humor helps to make the characters and story more relatable.

*****I thought I should update you on some information about Anais, since I've clearly gathered some readers that don't know how to _read_. I _do_ know that Type 1 Diabetes is insulin dependent. Did I ever say or mention that Anais was Type 1 or Type 2 yet? _No_, I didn't. But I would think it is quite clear that we are dealing with Type 1 considering she's taking insulin, shouldn't we? In _my Authors Note_ in the first chapter, I mentioned that_ I_ was the one with Type 2 Diabetes _not_ Anais. Considering I've been living with this for some time now, that I've gone through classes - at the Hospital - and have done my research, since my Thesis for my senior year of college is about Diabetes, I think I know what I'm talking about, especially when it comes to my _own_ body. And by the way, Type 2 patients can end up taking insulin. I know plenty of people from my educational classes that were Type 2 patients and were taking Insulin as their treatment. Thankfully, I caught my situation soon enough that I didn't need insulin. I'm very thankful for that. So, I'm sorry to those that don't deserve this rant, but to those that do, "Before you speak ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve upon silence?"*****

So I thought I would treat you to one more chapter today since it might be the last time I update in the next two weeks.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	6. Ghostly Swim

**Ghostly Swim**

Anais made her way down to the quarry after dinner a few days later. Petyr had given her her needed medication, in private, now that they were in a bigger group. Petyr deemed her issue needed to be kept secret, her medication was a valuable thing now, and if anyone knew he would have been worried about who would try and take their medication.

But Anais made her way to the quarry, a towel in hand. The sun had gone down and the others were lazing about their tents or by the fire. She was sure nobody followed her to the quarry as she took a quick dip in the water.

Water was one thing Anais took pride in the most. The feeling of it on her skin was the most exhilarating thing she could think off. It was fluid and light, dancing and swaying when the wind would pick up.

Anais dropped her clothes and slowly walked out into the water. The moon pooled out onto the water, reflecting little to nothing but enough to see her silhouette. She swam, stroked, dove, and exerted herself. The silence of the night and the fireflies spoke eloquently. Then the soft chirp of the crickets touched her ears. She smiled for the first time in a long time.

"Well now," a sly and gruff voice chimed from the dock. "I didn't think I'd be getting a show when I came down here. But look what I found."

A flirtatious whistle filled Anais's ears and her peace was squashed in a mere matter of seconds. Anais's eyes traveled up to the end of the dock. A man stood their looking down at her. He looked to be in his early fifties. The sound of his voice only told her he was a drinker and possibly did drugs. The slick smile on his lips made her feel as if grime was taking over her body, even though she was in the water.

"Now what would your name be pretty little lady?"

Anais didn't answer; she just stared, trying to stay as low as she could in the water.

"Oh it don't matter, I'll just take a wild guess," the man started to tease her, "Anais, am I right?"

Anais's stare immediately turned away, her silence was good enough for him. "Aw now, don't let your ol' pal Merle down. Common out and give me a show."

Anais began to swim back a bit. She wasn't going to get out, even if she had to stay there all night. A shiver ran down her back. It was getting cold. Not what she wanted.

"You don't say much for a girl," Merle said getting irritated now. "Don't make me come in there and get you."

"Merle!" a ruff thick accent growled at the other end of the dock. Anais peered over Merle to see who her new company was. " 'the fuck ya doing?"

Merle just grinned, "Gettin' me a show, little brother. Come join."

Anais took another glance now that she knew these guys were related. The other was just a bit shorter, muscular, and stared at her with piercing eyes. He grunted, "Fuck no. Leave her alone. You want to get us kick out?"

Merle grimaced, "Just trying to have a little fun, brother."

Merle began to walk away back up the trail to the campsite. Anais watched the little sibling watch his brother leave, Anais then swam back to shore and walked up to grab her towel. The man turned around in time to get a good view of the girl's backside before turning his eyes away in embarrassment. "You outta not do that."

Anais didn't answer, this frustrated the man. "Why didn't you tell him to fuck off?"

Anais didn't answer. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you mute?"

The man glanced back over, the girl had her clothes back on and she stared at him, her towel drying her hair, "Thank you."

The man stared back her, blinking with un-comfortableness as the girl walked past him and back up into the camp.

...

**A/N:** It's been a while updating this but I don't really think any body cares. Which is fine because this story is just a drabble anyway and I only update it when I know I have a full scene planned out for each chapter. I like putting this story in little snippets of time and conversations rather than one long continuous tale with too much description. Anyway, I hope this little introduction to Merle and Daryl was enough for you. There will be more to come of the brothers but for now they're just as much a mystery to Anais as she is to them.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	7. Night Court

**Night Court**

Petyr watched the camp with close attention. Anais had come back to the tent nights ago silent as ever but with flushness upon her cheeks. Though she hadn't said what had happened on her midnight excursion Petyr knew something had happened.

The skeptical look in his eyes as he went down the line of people in the camp became more defined as the number of people he suspected dwindled. There were a few that Petyr had yet to meet, there was Glen the pizza boy Korean kid, Morales and his family from Alabama, Carol and Ed, and Jim who was an auto mechanic. But lastly there were the Dixon brother. Out of everyone in the camp Petyr suspected them the most.

Anais was sitting on the edge of the dock, a fishing rod in her hand. Petyr took a seat and watched the water ripple as his feet slipped into its cool touch. "You've been quiet lately."

Anais had just cast her line again; the bobber bounced back and forth teasing the fish. "There is not much to say."

"Not even trying to talk to anyone in the group?" Petyr suggested. Anais glanced over at Petyr, "I have."

Petyr eyed her surprisingly. "Who have you talked to?"

"I think his name is Daryl." Anais answered nonchalantly, "I just told him thank you."

"What for?" Finally Petyr was getting answers out of her. This was all he wanted to hear.

"Saved me from his brother," Anais quietly murmured, a slight blush coming back to her cheeks as she watched the bobber across the water, "when I had gone swimming the other night."

Petyr noted the girl's rosy cheeks, "But you're okay now?"

Anais smiled, "Why wouldn't I be?"

Petyr just smirked and watched as the bobber went down for only a mere second, "Eh, you've a fish."

Anais jerked the bobber slightly, and then waited until the bobber went down once more. When it disappeared from the surface she jerked the line harder and sunk the hook into the fish's mouth. The battle ensued for only two or three minutes before Anais produced a fish before Petyr. "_Yella belly_," she told him in her best hick accent with a soft smile.

Petyr just chuckled and took hold of the fish carefully, then unhooking it from the line. Anais urged him to let it go back into the water; Petyr did as he was told.

"Do you want me to talk to Merle?" Petyr asked then, after think about the situation.

"Why? His brother got to him in good time," Anais told him with a look that said it's not a problem. Petyr sighed, "I still feel like I should be the one to tell him to back off."

Anais giggled. Petyr's eyes widened. He had heard her laugh before. But giggling? This was a rare occasion. "What's so funny?"

Anais just smiled after putting another worm on the hook, "I can't decide if you're feeling the need to say something because you feel like a brother or a boyfriend figure."

Petyr blushed then, "Uh- oh, brother of course."

"That's what I thought;" she chuckled, "just making sure."

Later that night the entire group joined around the campfire to share in the feast provided by Anais that day. With a total of twenty-three fish, Anais was the talk of the camp. Petyr was the only one who knew that the actually total was much bigger, but Anais had released every single fish she caught while Petyr had sat down by the dock with her. 'I don't like to show how cruel I can be. How emotionless and careless I am with living things. I'm not that way all the time and to prove a point, in this bare heart of mine, I will let go of the fish. His family probably misses him.' And so she would release it, the tally of actual fish caught increasing.

"How did you learn to fish?" Dale asked with a quiet smile, eating away at the work done by Lori and Carol.

Anais was usually silent during meals and this was the first time that anyone had tried to pry her into conversation. Anais paused while chewing her dinner; Petyr had given his helping of green beans to Anais, knowing she would need the natural sugar in it to survive. "My uncle taught me."

Dale smiled even more, "What's your secret?"

Anais chuckled, "Patience. I could sit on the dock all day if you'd let me."

Small laughter rolled across the campfire as Anais's answer amused the group. "She's a keeper that one," Dale told Petyr with a wink.

Petyr's cheeks turned a scarlet shade as he realized what Dale was referring to, "Oh, Dale it's not like that."

Anais watched the group as they intern watched Petyr closely. They clearly were amused how flustered he had become. Petyr was hard to get riled up. Shane tried to push it further, his amusement much more important than Petyr's reputation, "How old are you two?"

Anais raised a brow; Shane waited impatiently, "Old enough to drink."

"Twenty-seven," Petyr answered uncertainly.

"Good, so no underage sex here," Shane chided. Lori hissed Shane's name, holding Carl's ears with her hands. Anais laughed and Petyr's face couldn't have gotten any worse for ware, "Please, you don't have to worry about anything remotely related to that," Anais insisted still smiling.

The campfire became awkward but Anais knew how to fix the issue, "So, most of you are from Georgia. What other states have you been too?"

This urged the chatter to start and Anais relaxed against the lawn chair glancing in the Dixon brother's direction. Merle was shuffling around, clearly drugged up and antsy about the happenings around camp. Daryl sat in their tent cleaning away at his boots. With a sigh Anais turned her head to Petyr, the nod she gave him was the sign that she needed her medicine and so the two left the group and back to the secrecy of their tent.

Blue eyes watched the two 'northerners'. His eyes lingered on the soft casted shadows of the girl lying down and the man leaning over her, an object in his hand and the spot where it intersected with. Surely it was a secret to the rest of the group, but Daryl knew something wasn't right with the girl, and so when the light went off in the tent, Daryl kept his eyes on the spot where she laid.

...

**A/N:** So this chapter was meant to go into a little more depth about our two characters. Anais doesn't think too highly of herself, sometimes ashamed and I think a lot of that stems from the fact that she is diabetic and blames herself for it, which is a common thing to find in a lot of people who are diagnosed with the disease.

Anyhow, moving onto the next.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	8. Fire In Your Belly

**Fire In Your Belly**

There was nothing more frustrating than the feeling in ones stomach. Anais laid back in her makeshift bed and a low dangerous growl permitted itself to erupt to life. Anais grimaced.

Petyr had been out helping others setting up a perimeter 'sound system' made of string, stakes, and aluminum cans they had collected throughout meals of the day. The idea was a good one. It would at least warn the camp if something was coming toward their camp.

Anais rolled over and brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. Another growl escaped much louder than the last. Anais groaned into her pillow. She could literally feel what weight she did have slowly began to disintegrate. She knew she was losing weight much faster than the others.

Her pleas to her stomach hadn't gone unnoticed. Daryl could hear her groaning in frustration. This peeked his curiosity and he stood up to walk over to the tent. With a tap on the flap as warning of his company, Daryl peeked his head in to see what was going on.

Anais glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye and a frown prominent and clear as day had set onto her lips. "I'm not a creeper yet if that helps you feel better," she told him with some distaste.

Daryl just snorted, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Anais rolled her eyes and stared back at the wall of the tent opposite of her. She didn't want to admit she was hungry, "My stomach is growling."

Daryl wasn't sure he had heard her right but then after asking if she was hungry she nodded. Daryl grumbled something about Petyr not taking care of her under his breath and left the tent for god knows where. Anais thought she was safe for the meantime and turned over to her medical bag to grab for her meter. Quickly she set it up, pricked her finger and let the strip in the machine to draw her blood in for the quick test. 74.

With a sigh, Anais figured she should scrounge around for something to eat. Putting her things away, she crawled over to the small food pack and found the peanut butter jar. She needed a spoon, defeated; Anais laid on her back, the jar on her chest and her stomach emitting another monsters noise.

Before she could say anything, Daryl crawled into the tent and held out a small cylindrical tin. Anais blinked. She wasn't sure what was happening but she found herself reaching for the container and popping off the lid to see what was inside. Oh!

Anais smiled as she found jerky. She pulled out a piece and handed the container to Daryl so that he could eat with her. While she ate, Daryl carefully tried to keep his eyes elsewhere as he ate away at his food too. Anais was oblivious, he concluded. It was either that or she didn't care. But Daryl had the hardest time not staring at the marks on Anais's abdomen. Her t-shirt rose just enough for him to see them. Her stomach would rise up and down with each breath she took, the marks looking more and more like mosquito bites. He knew better though. Daryl knew it had to do with what he had seen a few nights before. He was curious.

"What's wrong with your belly?" he asked nodded at her. Anais looked away from the food in her hand and down past the peanut butter jar on her chest to the spot Daryl's blue eyes seemed to be staring at. Subconsciously, Anais pulled at her shirt, trying to cover the marks that she knew needed to be kept secret. There was no way to keep it secret though. It was clearly obvious there was something wrong with her.

Anais frowned up at the redneck, "It's nothing."

Daryl mirrored her with the same frown. He reached over, pulling the shirt back up and brushing his index finger over one of the marks. It looked slightly bruised, but with all of them on her it just looked like she'd gone through acupuncture. "That ain't nothin'."

His remark irked her. She rolled her eyes and looked away, she wasn't so hungry anymore. "You ain't gonna tell me are ya?"

Anais didn't say a word. Daryl huffed, pulled her shirt down and left the tent, leaving the tin of jerky there for her. Anais looked over after his leaving and saw the tin can. Something in her stomach felt like it was on fire.

…

**A/N****:** So I feel like this is where I really got to play with some character bonding, relationship building kind of stuff in this chapter. Nothing to serious but it's a building point, the foundation to a very deep and understanding relationship in the future. I really want to keep Daryl into character, the way Norman Reedus has very successfully captured him, so don't expect much of a change in this character.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	9. Sixteen Saltines

**Sixteen Saltines**

Petyr had noticed a change in Anais. She was socializing. And it was weird, at least for him.

Petyr watched from the top of the RV next to Dale as Anais was helping the women of the camp go through the piles of wet clothing and begun to hang them as told. She was focused; the determination in her eyes was clear and the tip of her tongue that stuck out the side of her mouth made him smile.

"She's like a sister, ain't she?" Dale asked quietly as he gazed out into the distance. Petyr shrugged.

"She's old enough to take care of herself, I just feel better when I can help, so that she doesn't have to exert herself," Petyr sighed, stretching his legs out and taking a wondrous look out toward the quarry.

"Exert? She's young, she's still got energy in her, don't you worry," Dale insisted with a very fatherly tone. Petyr was laughing on the inside. Oh, if only Dale knew.

Anais shook out a flannel shirt and took a clothes pin at a time, pinning it to the wire that had been strung out for this very purpose. Amy was chatting her up, looking over her work and giving a generous smile.

Anais tried her best to smile back. She like Amy. She was very sweet and kind and had spunk to her that the other women didn't. Maybe it was because of her youth, Anais reasoned that was it. But the half smile on her face faded after Anais felt a dizzy spell coming upon her. Her heart was beating faster; there was a chill about her bones, and lightness in her head. Anais stood back, holding herself up with the back of a chair.

Amy turned just in time to watch Anais faint. "ANAIS!"

Petyr hopped up the moment her name reached his ears and bolted down the ladder. His heart pounded as he found her lying on the ground and out cold. Amy laid Anais's head in her lap and called out her name softly, panicked.

Lori, Carol, Jacquie and the other women crowded the young girl with worry; Petyr had to push himself through to reach her. And in a minute Petyr had Anais in his arms. Carefully he carried her back to the tent and zipped up the door so others could not see. The emergency pack contained a small bottle of apple juice, quickly Petyr uncapped the bottle and placed it at Anais's lips, forcing them open and pouring in just a sip of the sugary drink.

While he waited for her to come-to, Petyr took her sugar level and hissed with the disappointing result. She coughed when waking up and leaned into Petyr for warmth, "You should have said something."

"I know," she mumbled, hiding her eyes from him. Petyr frowned and gabbed for the small pack of saltines. "Eat these and rest until dinner."

He left her there to tell the others she was okay. Anais ate to her hearts content.

…

**A/N****:** This chapter, I think, was my way of trying to build up an understand of how dangerous a situation Anais and Petyr have put themselves in. This is serious, they are stuck, Anais is sick and whether they like it or not, they can't hold out alone. And I think they'll begin to figure this out slowly as time goes on.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	10. California

**California**

Anais stared across the campfire to the many pairs of eyes staring back at her that night. They were making sure she ate, or at least watching to make sure she did. Petyr had made it out like she was anorexic. She wasn't, she was trying to ration her supply, to conserve her food, and to see how long she could go without eating. This was survival not the anxieties of a teenager worrying over how other's viewed her.

With some frustration, Anais shoveled the food into her mouth and left the campfire for the quarry before anyone could have a say in otherwise. The night was silent and this helped Anais to hear the extra pair of footsteps in her wake. She was still a little irked with the treatment she was receiving; having someone come to talk to her wasn't going to help.

With only another few feet to the dock, Anais rounded on the ball of her foot and was startled to find those piercing eyes glaring back at her. Anais bit back her thoughts. She knew better that to yell at a Dixon. Merle had proven himself a great adversary to many a people in the camp. Daryl was feared to be the same, but with the one look he gave everyone and anyone that was in his way nobody tried to provoke him.

Anais stayed silent and Daryl bit the side of this finger before figuring he should tell the girl what was on his mind. "What happened?"

Anais's brow twitch, "What does it matter? You won't believe me."

Daryl snorted rather rudely, "Try me."

Anais sighed and turned back around to head to the end of the dock. Daryl eventually followed and sat with her at the end of the dock. Anais dipped her feet into the quarries cool tresses and looked to Daryl pointedly.

"What I tell you is between you and me," Anais warned with no real sort of threat behind her words. Daryl just raised a brow. Anais let a small smirk lift on the side of her mouth realizing Daryl wouldn't say anything anyway. "I fainted okay? And it was because I hadn't eaten. I hadn't eaten because I'm trying to ration my food and medication, not because of anorexia…"

"What kind of dope are you taking? Can't be that important," Daryl muttered trying to sound un-interested.

"Insulin," she answered quietly. Daryl looked over, not quite sure what it was she was talking about. "I'm diabetic, the one that would kill me if I don't take my 'dope'."

Daryl frowned, "That's all the more reason to take it. You just gonna kill yourself by not?"

Anais huffed, "I'm not trying to kill myself, I'm trying to ration. I don't even know if they're planning a trip out to get supplies or not."

Daryl bit his finger and watched the reflection of Anais in the water. She was frowning; it was unbecoming of her he reasoned, "What do you have to do to survive?"

His question was going to help him help her. Whether she liked it or not, whether Merle liked it or not, Daryl wasn't going to see death in this camp, and if that meant he had to provide for this girl, then he was. What else did he have to do anyway?

So Anais explained in the shortest of words possible, he realized she hated to talk, to explain, and especially dawdling in company that wasn't entirely necessary. Daryl learned what he needed and left the girl on the dock so that he could plan for his next hunting trip. Her survival was his objective.

…

**A/N****:** This was a short bit on Anais and Daryl's little relationship. Just Daryl's way of learning how to make friends in a rather unfriendly situation.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	11. Oh-Whoa-Ohio Hiyo

**Oh-Whoa-Ohio Hiyo**

Anais watched the camp closely one morning. She had just finished a helping of refried beans for breakfast and had hoped to help Petyr gather mushrooms and berries that afternoon. Petyr was nowhere in sight though. Anais frowned.

"What's the matter Hun?" Dale asked as he walked over to the troubled girl. Anais just gave a shrug, "Have you seen Petyr?"

Dale shook his head. Shane walked over then and Anais asked the same question, "Nah, sorry. Haven't seen him."

Anais ended up asking Lori, Andrea, Amy, Jacquie, T-dog, even the little kids. But nobody had seen him. "Still no luck?" Dale asked as he held out a bottle of water to her. Anais shook her head but she had a secret weapon that nobody around camp knew about.

"There's only one way to find him," Anais reasoned. Dale looked at her with some surprise. Clearly he thought the task was hopeless. Not for Anais.

The girl raised her hands to her mouth to form a perfect megaphone and at the top of her lungs shouted, "O-H!"

"I-O!" immediately came a shout just as loud as hers down by the quarry. Anais smiled, "Found him." And off she went, Dale staring after her, a deep laugh leaving his lungs after she was out of ear shot.

…

**A/N****:** This is my favorite little scene. I wrote this after I had been walking down one of Ohio State University's busy streets after a football game and some guys were driving down the road shouting O-H while other kids in the bars or just walking down the sidewalks shouted back the ending. I thought it was a funny little moment and I really wanted to write it out in some sort of situation. Hope you thought it was just as funny as I did.

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	12. Baseball Blues

**Baseball Blues**

There was a great rumble in the distance that had caught Anais's attention. Off in the south west a threatening cloud was making its way toward Atlanta. The sight was rather fantastical and surreal in her eyes. The fray of lightning that would touch the earth was humbling, and yet she found herself alive and reenergized, the many weeks now that she and Petyr had found themselves camping with the Atlanta group. When the rain finally rolled in, everyone took shelter in their makeshift homes. The close quarters were enough to drive everyone mad. Anais was just as squirrelly as the kids. Petyr had his hands full.

"I'm hungry…" she moaned from underneath her blankets, shuffling around as if it was the only privacy she could attain. Petyr's brows twitched, "Seriously Anais. Can you sit still for five seconds?"

As if Anais had mentally counted those five seconds, she spent them as still as a tree. She was back at her antics once more. "Anais, really."

She grinned from underneath her blankets and then poked out her head to get a good look at her handy work. Petyr looked back at her pointedly, "Anais."

"You sure do like my name, don't you?" she finally spoke up. The blank look on Petyr's face didn't help. Anais just sighed and crawled out from under the covers. "What's up your butt?"

Petyr snorted, "You for starters…"

"That's was mighty dirty of you, mister," Anais wiggled her index finger disapprovingly. Petyr's cheeks flushed, "I didn't mean it like that."

Anais just hummed with disapproval. She turned back to the entrance of the tent; rain continued to fall steadily, thunder rolled with content. "Did your parents ever tell you stories about thunderstorms to keep you from being scared?"

Anais's question was out of the blue, she lied on her stomach still staring out of the doorway, her head resting on her outstretched arms. Petyr glanced over the book in his hands and considered her question. For once she was actually silent, he took his time with this one, hoping it would keep her mind from a tizzy. But with the prolonged silence, Anais turned from the doorway and looked to him, to make sure he had actually heard her.

"Da would tell me the stories of angels playing baseball or bowling. Mostly baseball because he knew I loved baseball so much. He'd tell me about all those all-star players from back in the day would be playing a grand game of ball, the ultimate game, and that would be why there were claps of thunder and lightning. Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, he would name them all, one by one. And slowly I forgot about how horrible the rain and thunder was and could only think about the game of the century being played and I couldn't see it. But I could hear it, I knew it was happening and that was all that mattered," Anais smiled weakly at Petyr. He stared at her for a few seconds longer than necessary, but smiled none-the-less.

"You must have loved your Dad very much," Petyr reasoned. He wished he could say the same.

"Sometimes," Anais admitted while turning her head back toward the opening. Petyr didn't ask anymore. The distance in her voice told him not to. She was silent the rest of the day. He was sure she was imagining the game of the century going on up in the clouds. He smiled only a little.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	13. Tara

**Tara**

Anais spent some time with the women one day down by the quarry. They needed help with keeping laundry clean. Anais kept quiet during these meetings. Though Amy would try forcing her into some sort of conversation, it was short and sweet answers. Today, the others were determined to get something out of her.

Lori and Carol were ringing the water out of a few shirts as Andrea was rubbing a pair of jeans on the wash board. "Boys and their clothes…" Jacquie hummed with some disapproval as she looked over a flannel shirt, one of the Dixon brother's surely. "My husband was the same. Dirt and cement from work, every night."

"Ed can be that way sometimes," Carol admitted with some distaste.

"I've only had one boyfriend," Amy said with a smile, "and he was the biggest slob I've ever seen."

Amy then looked to Anais, "How about you?"

Anais stared at her for a moment and then as if she'd just realized what she had been asked she flushed red for the first time in front of anyone. Amy grinned, "What? You've had a boyfriend right?"

Anais hummed, "I've had one and…"

"And what?" Andrea asked with a wicked grin. This was the most information they had got out of her. It was the kind of gossip they killed for. If Anais could have become anymore flustered it was then, "Don't judge, but… the girl I dated in college was much more of a slob than the boyfriend I had after her."

Anais's admitted dating life was true and rare gossip. This was gold, but also seemed to be a touchy subject, at least for some of the older women. Amy however was quite curious, "What was her name? How old were you when you were together?"

Anais tried to answer short and sweet but Amy and eventually the others were asking and inquiring all the same. Anais was so flustered by the end of their interrogation that the women agreed to stop pestering her and turned to a different topic of conversation. Anais was grateful and after returning to the camp took refuge in her tent.

Petyr had been by the camp fire helping build a stone wall around the wood pile. The women hung the clothes on the lines had caught the small attention he had left, "I just can't believe she had dated a girl."

"And what's wrong with that?" Amy defended. "She's a human being and it's natural for humans to be curious."

"It ain't right. Says so in the bible," Carol muttered.

Amy glared but Andrea spoke up, "I think we could leave the bible out of this now that the dead are up and walking about. But you forget that she had a boyfriend as well, and so what if she dated a girl. Anais is Anais and we like her for the hard working funny person that she is."

Carol didn't say anything further. In fact the topic was never brought up again. Petyr left his job for someone else and walked to his tent. He founder Anais going through their medical pack, checking how much was left and what they would need in a supply run. Petyr crawled in and sat on the disheveled bedding with a wicked smile. "I suppose I should ask and get this out of the way."

"What? That if I like girls?" Anais wondered with some sarcasm. "The other's still out their judging me like I asked them not to?"

Petyr gave her a strange look, "Why are you so bitter about this? You shouldn't care what they think."

Anais gave a weak smile, "But I care what you think."

Petyr gave a snort, "What I think? Now why would you care what I think?"

Anais shook her head, placing the insulin bottles back into the bag, "Because you're the closest thing I have to a family."

Petyr smiled then and scooted closer to her. He grabbed hold of her busy hands and pulled Anais into him, the strength of his arms holding her tightly. Something in Anais moved, her heart panged and tears welled up in her eyes. Her grip tightened and for once since everything went down Anais cried. She cried into his shirt, taking comfort in the care that Petyr offered her. "You're my sister now, you hear?"

Anais nodded into his chest and Petyr could only smile more, "It doesn't matter who you like or how you live your life. But right now, you're my family and that's all that matters to me."

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	14. Midori

**Midori**

For the longest time Petyr stared at the trees. The sun's rays would peer through the leaves as if he was trying to peer up threw the surface underwater. Instead, shades of green captured his vision and he thought lightly of the summers back home, the humidity, the lakes, and the kids running around looking for the coolest shades to hide under. Petyr smirked.

On watch duty he could scan his eyes over the entire camp, sometimes even parts of the quarry. Today hadn't been anything special. His eyes gazed on the horizon, the clouds farther off were a shade darker than normal. A storm was brewing but that was supposedly common for the south he was told. Petyr's hazel eyes traveled the edge of the woods, each tent, the people in them and around them. Off near his and Anais's tent was the Dixon brother's tent. Merle was cleaning his motor bike but the other brother, Daryl, was nowhere in sight, nor was Anais.

"Hey Dale!" Petyr called from the top of the RV. The old man came walking out of the RV and stared up at the roof. Petyr glanced down with a wave. "Have you seen Anais?"

The old timer glanced around and then back up at the young man, "Last I saw her she was walking down to the quarry."

Petyr thanked him and took to looking through the binoculars. He could see the edge of the dock just above the tree line that was blocking the way down to the quarry. Anais sat there, a fishing line in her hand and next to her was a man. It wasn't very distinguishable, but with the sleeveless shirt and crossbow setting next to him on the side of the dock, it was no question the man was Daryl. What on earth was he doing with her?

It wasn't as if he was upset but he was curious. He hadn't seen the two socialize before. It was odd but it almost made sense. The two were quiet, they kept their feelings locked away and craved for alone time. They were clearly one in the same person, just the opposite genders. Petyr snorted at the thought.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	15. Luv Sic

**Luv Sic**

"_Like your moves that I can't predict  
>Like your look that I can't resist<br>The ting-a-ling feeling was oh so mutual  
>The lingering appeal was so unusual-<em>"

The music stopped the minute Petyr walked into the tent. Anais looked around her, anywhere but Petyr's eyes, because she knew she was caught singing. Petyr grinned with delight.

"I didn't know you could sing?" he started as he walked over to look into her black medicine bag. Dinner was coming up and he needed to give her a quick dose to get her through the night. Anais's lips drew into a flat line, it was clear she hadn't wanted him to find out about her little muse.

"You should sing more often," he urged then as he stuck her in the arm this time. He had noticed the various shot marks in her stomach and deemed it needed some time to heal. Anais hissed when the needle hit her unexpectedly. Petyr just chuckled. "You have a lovely voice."

Anais just hummed with disapproval and left the tent the minute she could get out of his reach.

Dinner consisted of fish again, not that they mind, but it was becoming a common site on their dinner plates. A small serving of green beans and apple slices was the next best thing to desert. Petyr sat next to her like always and the chatter around camp quickly filled the campfire's embrace.

Somehow music was brought up through the nights memories of the old days and before Anais had her chance to slip away Petyr brought up that he had heard her singing earlier that day. The girl was mentally stabbing the man in the back with daggers made of ice. But her wishes were interrupted when Morales had asked what she liked to sing. It was honest curiosity she had noticed.

"Anything if it sounds good," Anais admitted with a small smile.

"What were you singing earlier? I liked that," Petyr spoke up before putting a fork of green beans in his mouth. Sneaky bastard he was.

"Nujabes," she answered quietly.

"You should sing for us," Dale insisted. The old man was truly craving for something to listen too. Having to hear the bickering ladies and boisterous children all day really drove him to crave that once sweet sound of language and rhythm.

"I don't think I can," Anais insisted with a deep flush.

Morales chuckled, "Of course you can. Do you know how to play guitar?"

Anais wanted to lie but she found herself nodding anyway and off went Morales to find his instrument. He came troding back with the beautifully crafted stringed instrument and placed it gently into Anais's hands. "Go on," he insisted with a sweet smile.

Anais nodded, thinking over what she remembered how to play. Only one song was truly strong in her memory and she quickly strung a chord before beginning what she could remember.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	16. Bomb In A Birdcage

**Bomb in a Birdcage**

"_Women ain't good fer anything' but cleanin', cookin' and breedin'."_

Anais could hear nothing but this phrase repeating itself in her already numb mind. The rolling heat of the summer was boring onto her back, the pale skin feeling the stinging kiss of the sun's violent rays and frying to a tender crisp. If it hadn't been for this unbearable heat, the girl would have truly considered her building anger to be the culprit for the fainting spell.

"Hun, are you alright?" A warm comforting voice asked from above her. A damp cool cloth was dabbed across her forehead and around her neck to cool her off, the sensation was a relief. Anais opened her eyes and the blinding light was enough to have her blink a few more times before a defined face was clear to her.

"Dale?" The old man smile, the wrinkles in his face drew a wonderful arrangement of lines and characteristics, she thought she might like to paint those lines. "It's good to know you haven't forgotten anything."

Anais tried to pry herself up from the ground but Dale insistently urged her to lie back down, his aged and worn hands gentle. "Hun, you just fainted. Just take a moment," Dale insisted.

Footsteps evaded her ears and Lori's face came into view next. She held a bottle of water to her mouth and urged the girl to sip slowly. "Listen to Dale sweetie."

"Is Anais alright?" a soft child voice called from behind Lori. Lori nodded listlessly and urged Carl to go help Shane across the way.

"You need to drink plenty of water Hun," Dale chide with a knowing look. Anais just gave the old man a grim smile.

Surely the sun wasn't this hot today? She had never really 'fainted' before. She'd had moments where she was dizzy and there was only one reason for that. Anais lifted her hand only to find what she was looking for. The girl took a shaky breath and Dale took hold of her hand. "Is everything alright?"

Anais just nodded and gave a confirmed nod. "I just need food."

Dale grinned, "Well I can help you there Hun."

…

Anais sat in the booth of Dale's RV and looked down at the meter in front of her. With disapproval, she turned to the needle and vile to her left. The glass reflected the sun's rays, the contents not clearly recognizable to anyone but herself. The girl took the needle and prescribed the right amount needed for the next few hours and eventually stuck the needle into her side.

A comforting silence came to her ears and the racing beating of her heart slowed to a comfortable pound. The cooked beans and fruit in front of her on a plate was all Dale could scrounge up until Daryl had come back from his hunt. Anais ate with no regret. But she prayed with all hope that Glen would come back with what she needed.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	17. The John Wayne

**The John Wayne**

Daryl had left before dawn the day Merle had volunteered to go on the supply run into Atlanta. Daryl knew better than anybody else that Merle was running low on his supply and this little trip was more in hopes to find what chemicals his body was craving. His problem was almost as bad as Anais's situation, but just not as permanent. Merle had all the strength one needed to quit, that was the only difference.

Daryl grunted, the humidity of the day slowly rising with the sun through the sky. Daryl hummed to himself wondering if Anais had eaten anything that morning. He knew Petyr was running with his brother on the supply run, she was running out of medication. And Daryl was doing his part, feeding her and the rest of the group.

Merle would have said he was going soft if Daryl had admitted to hunting for Anais. He didn't want any of that kind of drama and it would also seem suspicious just in general to the rest of the camp. So his reasoning for hunting would always be for the camp, even though deep down his feelings said something else.

A delicate crunching of leaves graced Daryl's hearing from not too far off. The only reason he knew it wasn't a geek was the fact that it wasn't producing a dragging sound. Satisfied, Daryl took up his crossbow and began the hunt.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	18. I'm Sorry

**I'm Sorry…**

Anais stared at the panicking adults. A radio call had been established only minutes earlier, explaining the groups sent supply runners were trapped in a building. With the oncoming thunderstorm, communication would be rough but surely not impossible. It was more nerve racking hearing about family and friends being trapped than anything else. Amy was deemed inconsolable as Lori tried to help with any stress or worry about Petyr. But Anais looked on blankly.

Her body was weak and any more fight in her was buried deep with the knowing fact that death was always waiting for her no matter how long she put it off.

Dale sat next to her, concerned with her limited responses that whole day, "Something bothering you?"

Anais let her eyes drag over to Dale's face. She lazily lifted her hand, the clear response she was looking for, trembling hands. Dale's eyes scanned her figure; she was losing weight faster than anyone else in the camp, "Anais, is there something I should know about?"

Anais nodded, she had no energy to produce words. The lids of her eyes drooped; a nap was in her future she noted. But she figured it was a better time now that any to admit her secret to Dale. Anais lifted the chain necklace from under her t-shirt. On the end of it was a medical pendant. Dale flipped over the pendants and made a sharp intake of breath, "Anais…"

Anais could only mutter a whisper of which type conflicted her before she blacked out for the second time in two days.

…

Dale placed an index and middle finger on the young woman's throat to feel if her pulse was still there. Thankfully he could feel the slow beating of the girl's heart and he let the breath he was holding go. Shane walked forward noting the only girl in the whole camp that hadn't been doing anything that week was asleep again. "Is she sick? Fever?"

Dale shook his head, knowing where Shane was going with this. Jim had joined their group, also concerned. It was not missed that the usually busy girl was absent most of this week. Dale lifted the medical id pendant from the girl's shirt and showed it to the two men. "She's a type 1 Diabetic."

Shane's face went blank, a clear sign that this was foreign territory for him. Jim tisked, "Shit."

"I didn't know until now," Dale admitted, "I wondered why she was always talking to Petyr in secret."

"What does this mean?" Shane asked.

"She requires insulin to live of course," Jim explained. "My sister was a type 1. I bet you she's been trying to ration her medicine."

"If she is she's just hurting herself in the end," Dale noted with a grim look about his features. "I reason that was why Petyr was so adamant about going on this last supply run. She needs the medication."

"Well, let's get her into the RV and see if we can find anything to scrounge up," Shane ordered with a lost sense of hope, "I'll get Lori to check their tent and grab any of the medication and shit that's in there. Jim, I guess since you know what needs to be done, would you help her out?"

Jim nodded and bent down to help Shane carry the girl to the RV. Lori had come back to the camper after Shane had addressed the issue in quiet confidence. Jim steadily got to work. The black leather bag that Lori had brought to the RV was filled with all sorts of medication but most of the containers were empty. Jim bit his lip and pulled out the meter. He quickly pricked the young girl's finger and drew blood into the test strip. Her sugar was low, dangerously low, they weren't in the clear just yet.

Dale walked through the small hallway and knocked on the wood frame with a concerned smile, "How is she?"

Jim just shook his head, "Not great. She needs food. I don't know what she was thinking."

Dale pulled up a chair and took off his hat, twisting it, "What kind?"

"Crackers, let's start off with something small," Jim suggested.

Dale ran off to find what he needed while Jim waited for his return, his thumb rubbing circles into the top of her hand, in hopes to coaxes her out of her sleep. Dale came back with a glass of water and the crackers.

Jim leaned forward and began patting Anais on the face. The contact had given Jim some hope when she began to stir, had she not, Jim wouldn't have been able to do anything. In fact, nobody could do anything other than dig a grave.

"Anais, you need to eat, hun," Jim began while taking a cracker from the plastic wrapper in his hands. Braking off little bits at a time, Jim pressed the food to her lips and forcing it in once she opened her mouth.

It was only an hour later that she was sitting up and fully conscious of her surroundings. Dale had fetched another small packet of crackers, which she was found eating while Jim checked her sugar once more, satisfied with the result. "All better."

Anais gave a quick smile before returning back to her cracker, nibbling slowly to enjoy what little taste is did give her. Jim patted her hair down and left so that Dale and the others could file into the small and compact room to make sure she was fine. Anais only found one word that could summarize what she was feeling, "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, sweetie," Lori had insisted while taking her cold hand into her warm and delicate ones. "Maybe you should have just told us what was really going on from the very beginning."

Anais winced, only a little but nodded just to appease Lori in the end. "I'll let you know next time."

"Hopefully there won't be a next time," Dale insisted with a teasing smile. "And in any case, you should be getting more food than the rest of us."

Anais shook her head, "Honestly all this was because I was running out of medicine. Once I have more I'll eat. Promise."

The other adults seemed satisfied with her answer and then left her alone for the rest of the afternoon as they tried to not think about their family and friends that were away in Atlanta, possibly in more danger than themselves.

Anais grudgingly bit her lip with worry. Not only because she was worried about Petyr but because of what she would have to tell him. The entire camp knew now. And their secret was out. How would that change their situation? They now held some very valuable items and that could start a very unwanted confrontation.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	19. You Rascal You

**You Rascal You**

Petyr sighed out of relief after the new comer, police from the look of it, tackled Merle to the gravel on the roof top and cuffed the stupid ass to a pipe. Petyr wiped the blood from his nose on the sleeve of his shirt. Merle had clocked him one good after he had stood up for T-dog when a few racial slurs had slipped from the redneck's mouth. Petyr didn't tolerate that kind of shit.

"Things are different now," Officer Friendly told Dixon, "There are no _Niggers_ anymore."

Petyr eyed the gun that the officer had taken from Merle, swallowing hard as he tried his best to help T-dog with any cuts or bruising. "What hurts, T-dog?"

The broad shouldered man grunted as Jacqui and Glenn tried to help T-dog sit up. The two talked quietly while Petyr lifted T-dog's shirt up to make sure no ribs were broken by pressing on each one lightly. The man just grimaced. That was a good sign. Screaming would have been worse.

When Petyr gave T-dog the okay, he turned around to find Officer Friendly searching Merle over once more. A small glass vile was removed from Dixon's vest pocket and Petyr couldn't help but snicker. He knew something had been off about the man and he didn't believe Anais when she'd brought up the suggestion of drugs. He'd honestly considered it to be a mental illness at the time. Boy was she going to shove that in his face.

"Got some on your nose there," the officer teased while flicking Dixon's nose.

"What are you gonna do?" Dixon grumbled rather lazily. A sleazy laugh came from his lips once he asked if the officer would arrest him. Instead Officer Friendly pitched the rocks over the edge of the building and walked off. Petyr followed right after him and Morales right after him.

The officer walked over to the other side of the roof top and glanced out over the city while clutching the wrist of the hand he'd punched Merle with. Petyr smirked and nodded down at the sprain, "Wrap it. It'll feel better."

"Thanks," Officer Friendly muttered before Morales began to remark on his performance.

"You're not Atlanta P.D. Where you from?"

"Up the road a ways," the officer admitted with a small smile.

"Well, Officer Friendly from up the road a ways, welcome to the big city," Morales greeted grimly.

"Rick."

"Morales."

"Petyr."

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	20. Graceless

**Graceless**

Amy, who had been in a sour mood ever since her confrontation with Shane and leaving Andrea for dead, had decided to keep Anais company. Thunder rolled throughout the sky late in the afternoon and Anais found she couldn't help but remember explaining to Petyr what thunderstorms meant to her. In the end it just reminded her of the fact that she may never see Petyr again.

"How long has it been since the radio call?" she asked while pulling the curtain back so that she could see the dark clouds in the sky. "Nearly an hour ago."

Amy's curt reply was of no help. It only served to put Anais on edge. "Hopefully they figure something out. Petyr is quite crafty in sticky situations."

Anais's quick retort at least brought a small smile to Amy's face. "Has Daryl come back from his hunt yet?"

Amy glanced at her oddly. Most of the group didn't really understand Anais and Daryl's relationship. Amy often told Anais to try staying away from the Dixons, pretty much most of the camp did and for the most part Anais had kept to their wishes. But Daryl was always there bringing her back something to eat, whether it was deer or squirrel, it was always something. He was always checking her, making sure she was still healthy and well… alive.

"No, he hasn't," Amy answered but bit the bottom of her lip, a question on the tip of her tongue. Anais could see it clearly. She knew Amy wanted to ask but it was the biting of her lip that told Anais that Amy was not sure if she should.

"What?" Anais asked. Amy's eyes widened and she sat up in her chair ringing her hands out of nervousness. "It's just- Did Daryl know? About- well, your thing?"

"My thing?" Anais asked with a small snort. It was the first time Amy had truly seen Anais smile and not smirk. Amy couldn't help but smile then as well.

"Yes, you're Diabetes," Amy said rolling her eyes teasingly.

Anais paused, the smile fading as she glanced longingly out the window, "Yes, he does."

Amy wanted to say more about the topic, about the thoughts she'd conjured, the theories of Daryl trying to help, even how it possibly was the only reason why Daryl was nice to her and tolerant of the others. But the look on Anais's face stopped Amy from bringing it up. There was a longing in her eyes. A deep and unconditional love for the world outside her window and it was that look that made Amy realize this was the true person that Anais had always been. Not the person hiding behind the baseball bat and a smirk.

"I want to be outside," Anais spoke longingly. The dark clouds had already passed through the city but were gliding by their camp with no hopes of ever reaching them fast enough. The sun was blazing over the camp and Amy couldn't blame the girl for wanting to get out of the muggy RV, if only for a little bit.

"Common, I'll help you out," Amy stated while standing and taking one of her friend's arms.

When they reached the dirt ground of the camp, Anais shakily walked over to a lawn chair in front of the fire to sit. Lori was clipping away at Carl's hair and Shane had been cleaning his shotgun with care. Amy set her down and walked off, mumbling something about not wanting to be around Shane. Anais waved her off and tried her best to enjoy the breeze of the oncoming storm.

Anais couldn't even shut her eyes and enjoy the nature around her for five seconds before the most obnoxious sound of a car siren started blaring up the quarry road. Dave hollered up at Dale while Shane wasted no time in hauling ass up to the camper, "Hey, Dale, can you see what that is?"

Anais weakly tried her best at getting up out of the lawn chair. Lori hurried over and helped her, Carl taking hold of her elbow, trying to be of some assistance to his mother. Anais thanked her quickly, her heart pounding lightly while she tried her best to climb up the small hill, craning her neck to see if she could spot a familiar face.

"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy asked, worry strained within her voice. Anais paused behind the younger girl and set her hand reassuringly on her shoulder. Amy glanced back at her, while Anais tried her best to offer a smile.

"Stolen car is my guess," Dale stated after looking through his binoculars. All they could do was wait until the car was up the hill.

A red revving Camaro halted at the top of the hill, its siren deafening anyone within the vicinity of the camp. Dale was none too pleased, "Holy Crap. Turn that damn thing off!"

"I don't know how!" Glenn shouted over the noise.

While Glenn was being assaulted by Amy and Shane, one wanted the hood popped open and the other asking question after question about her sister, Glenn slipped into the car and popped the hood.

Jim snagged the fuse to shut the siren off and finally a wonderful silence filled the area, nature returning back to its former glory.

"Why isn't she with you? Where is she? Is she okay?"

"Yes!"

After Glenn finally answered Amy's dying and burning questions, there was a relief that washed over the camp. Anais felt much better knowing that everyone was alright. "Everybody is fine."

"Merle not so much," Glenn added. Anais eyed the Korean in front of her, a terrible nervousness bubbling in her stomach. Daryl would not like that news.

While Shane and Dale were scolding Glenn for coming to the camp with a blaring siren to earn the attention of every creeper within the area, Anais noticed a white cube van hurrying up the trail that the Camaro had just come from. Anais took a step forward, a weak one at that and a smile formed on her lips.

Morales and Petyr were the first to exit the vehicle. Anais, weak as she was, made up for the lack of energy with enthusiasm. Her pace quickened down the road and while Amy had run past her to tackle Andrea, Anais wrapped her arms around Petyr's torso, holding onto him so tight that he actually wheezed a laugh. "Miss me that much huh?"

"You've no idea."

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	21. Angre

**Angre**

While everyone was trying to get to know the new guy, Rick was his name according to Petyr, Anais pulled Petyr back to the tent and shut the flap. There was a seriousness over her features that unnerved him a bit. He wondered if she'd run out of medication while he was gone. So he pulled his backpack off and set it in front of them, so that he could open the zipper and search within its depths.

Anais's hand reached out and stalled Petyr. The pharmacist eyes drifted back up to the ones he knew were watching him. It was then he knew something was wrong.

"They know."

That was all she needed to say. A pent up sigh left Petyr's lungs as his gaze wandered back down to the backpack. "How?"

"I passed out again," she told him regretfully. He could hear how much it hurt her to admit. "Dale and Jim helped. Jim said his sister was a Diabetic. So he took care of me."

"Anais…" Petyr groaned but he brought the girl to him, holding her head to his chest and resting his other arm around her back. "We're just going to have to hide the rest of the medication. All they know about is your insulin, right?"

She nodded in his embrace and he was satisfied with that answer at least. "Start eating please. I don't want to lose you."

She nodded again and Petyr was sure, for once in his life that she'd finally learned her lesson.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	22. Cayucos

**Cayucos**

The next morning after Petyr's return, as well as the loss of Merle and the miracle survival of Lori's 'dead' husband, Anais found herself playing a little baseball on the edge of camp with the fruits from a Osage orange tree, or what was commonly called monkey balls or hedge apples. They physical activity was a stress reliever in these straining times, but she also did it just to see the pearly white smiles of the little kids in camp. The kids gathered around her watching as the guts and seeds flew through the air and little laughs and giggles hung on the wind.

Sarah had joined the little group of children, sort of like a baby sitter for the short hour, while also coddling her son, Noah. She smiled, happy that the other kids were at least having fun in this strange new life of theirs.

Anais picked up one last hedge apple near some brush and sniffed the air out of habit. The air had a ting of putrid decay to it and that was when something in her gut didn't feel right. "Sarah, get the kids out of here."

"What'd you say, sweetie?"

Sarah came closer to Anais crouching form but didn't see the object that Anais had been eyeing from across the way. Sarah's eyes gazed up in the direction of Anais's stare and a shrill scream pierced the air before Anais could say anything to stop her. Anais stood, pushing Sarah back towards camp with the other children in tow. Then when they were out of sight, she turned back around and jumped the bushes, bat in tow.

Sarah hurried back into camp calling for help. The men hurried over with shovels and crowbars, anything they could use to hit. By the time they turned around the bend and were through the brush, they found Anais over the body, bat bloodied and broken. The deer underneath the creeper was mauled and chewed up, useless to them now.

Anais's back was to the men, she dropped her bat on the ground, producing an echo from the wood of the bat, and she turned her gaze back at them, annoyance clear in her features, "It's done, but I need a new bat."

The guys stared at her bewildered. Anais spotted the bat in Morales's hands and smiled, "Can I have that?"

Morales swallowed hard and nodded, handing the wooden stick over to the young woman. Petyr pushed through the throng of men, noting that Rick and Shane were eyeing Anais with some concern, and took hold of the girl who'd yet to move from her spot.

"Are you alright?" Petyr asked looking her all over, checking her stomach, arms, and legs. Anais nodded listlessly and began to walk away from the crippled body on the ground so that she could go back to batting at hedge apples. Dale shook his head, "They never come this far up the mountain."

Anais paused just past Rick and looked back at Dale pointedly. Jim offered his own opinion, "Well, they're running out of food in the city."

Rustling in the brush past a boulder on the other side of the clearing brought all the men back on edge. Anais had noted that the footsteps were less dragging and more purposeful. She knew it wasn't a creeper.

A slight twitch of a smile pulled on Anais's lips when she saw a sleeveless hunter come out of the brush looking surprised to see half the camp waiting there for him. His eyes met the young woman amongst the men, noting splotches of black blood on her flannel shirt. He wasn't going to say anything about it though. That just would just seem odd.

Instead his eyes landed on the dead body and the deer beneath it, chewed out and wasted. "Son of a bitch."

"Look at it all gnawed on by this filthy, disease-bearing, motherless proxy!"

Anais watched Daryl take his frustrations out on the creeper. With every kick, a sick crunch of bones under skin could be heard. Anais knew he'd been on that hunt for her. He'd even asked her if she'd wanted venison before he'd left yesterday morning. Now that his prey was infected he'd failed her. But in all honesty, Anais didn't hold it against him. How could she? She never asked Daryl to do anything that he was doing for her.

Dale did his best at trying to calm Daryl down but it only seemed to frustrate the man even more.

"I've been tracking this deer for miles," Daryl sighed as he began to remove the arrows from the carcass. "Was gonna cook us up some venison. What do you think? Can we cut up this chewed up part right here?"

Amy and Andrea looked mortified and the guys making a perfect half-moon shape around the bodies didn't look any better in the face than the two women. Petyr had no clue why Anais found company in this Dixon enjoyable but for whatever reason he wouldn't be able to convince her not to otherwise.

"I would not risk that," Shane admitted with a sigh.

"Damn shame," Daryl sighed. But he perked up and turned around looking pointedly at Anais, "I got some squirrel – about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

Anais gave him a slight smile before turning around to head back to camp. The look he gave her, the one where he'd pear up at her as he bit the side of his thumb, was enough to make her remember the fact that Merle was gone, someone he love more than anyone else in this gone-to-shit world, and someone in camp was going to have to tell Daryl. Anais honestly didn't want to be around for when that happened. But she knew there was no way to avoid it.

Petyr walked Anais up to the camp, reasoning it was about time to eat something anyway. The sun blazed over top the camp, past noon already. The women were huddled outside the RV chatting away and keeping an eye on the children. Anais veered off for Petyr and her tent to grab some crackers. The shouting of Merle's name from Daryl behind Anais stirred her out of the tent to watch what would happen next.

She eyed Shane and Rick, who were hot on Daryl's heels. "Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Daryl asked, completely oblivious to the reason why his brother was not answering to his calls. Anais stepped closer to the camp's center, Petyr right behind her, nibbling on a spoon of peanut butter rather than the crackers she couldn't find.

"About Merle. There was a – there was a problem in Atlanta," Shane drawled on. That was one thing Anais couldn't stand about these southern folk, well maybe Shane in particular. He always drawled on his sentences. She was a very blunt person and dragging things out just was too much energy for her. That's why she enjoyed Daryl. Out of the few people from the southern states in their group, Daryl liked things that were to the point.

Daryl seemed to notice that most of the entire camps attention was on him. Anais knew that feeling well and if she knew Daryl at all, he would react well.

"He dead?"

"Not sure," Shane admitted with less remorse or sincerity than he should have. That fueled the fire and Anais could not blame Daryl one bit for his actions. "He either is or he ain't!"

The new guy, Rick, stepped forward and told Daryl flat out what had happened. T-dog conveniently walked up at the right moment with a handful of firewood. This had been the first time Anais had heard the actually story too. And though she did agree with the circumstances of the situation, none of the people on the supply run should have left Merle. It was wrong and inhuman.

"Hold on. Let me process this," Daryl stated sarcastically. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"

Petyr and Anais winced at the chord of anger within Daryl's voice. The young woman could just see Daryl's rage reaching its peak and she knew better than any that she didn't want to see what would happen next. Turning on her heel, Anais began to walk away but Petyr stopped her in her tracks, griping her wrist and forcing her to turn around. Petyr wanted her to see the man she truly hung around with, to know who Daryl really was and how dangerous he could really be.

Unfortunately for Petyr, Anais had already had enough experience with her own father to know what to expect from Daryl.

"Yeah," Rick sighed regretfully. The look on Daryl's face said all that needed to be said. But the camp knew Daryl well enough to know that the redneck wouldn't let this news roll off his shoulders.

Daryl chucked the string of squirrels at Rick, startling many of the campers to take a step back. But when Daryl made a step to go after Rick, Shane tackled him to the ground. T-dog called out for others to watch the knife that Daryl drew from his hip. Daryl swung at Rick, who just as easily dodged the weapon as he kneed the redneck in the stomach, taking hold of the arm that held the knife. Shane took that chance to choke hold Daryl down to the ground, successfully forcing the man to calm himself.

"Common now, I can keep this up all day," Shane teased. Rick bent down so that he was eye level with Daryl. When Anais started to hear Daryl panting, the sound of one desperately searching for air, she moved to protest their actions. Yet again, Petyr was there to hold her back. Her gaze was pointed, anger seething at Petyr but he was just as bull headed and his grip never loosened.

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic," Rick stated like any sort of officer of the law. "Do you think we can manage that?"

When Daryl didn't answer and Rick repeated his self, Anais couldn't stand by, "Can you let him go? Can't you see he can't breathe?"

Petyr groaned and started to pull Anais away, back towards their tent. Rick had given the girl an unsettled look before Petyr began dragging her away and Dale looked on after the two concerned. He knew they weren't related and they definitely weren't a couple, but the way Petyr was nearly man handled the girl concerned him greatly…

Anais struggled all the way to the tent. When Petyr pushed her in, she sat herself down on the blankets and glared up at Petyr warningly. After he stepped inside he sighed, realizing he couldn't hold back what he was thinking, "You can't defend that man, Anais."

She didn't say a word. She didn't have to. The look on her face said it all and Petyr knew he was wasting his breath but he continued on anyway. He wasn't going to just sit back and watch the world crumble before him. Not when he had someone to take care of now. "Seriously, Anais. I know you two _talk_ now and again but you can't go defending him. He's not the type you should be defending. His brother is no better."

"Like it was right for Rick to handcuff a Human Being to the roof like he was dead meat for the creepers?!" Anais finally shouted, "_That's_ wrong! Even if he was dangerous, you don't go around doing that kind of shit during the fucking apocalypse!"

It was very clear her thoughts could be heard across the camp ground, Dale and Jim had been eyeing the two from across the way, ears keen now that Anais was being very verbal, which was very uncommon considering her very 'silent as the night' personality. "I don't care what _you_ say, or what Rick, Shane, or anybody else says. You _don't_ treat people like that. _Never_."

Petyr opened his mouth to retort, to defend himself, to tell her he was only trying to protect her. But she raise her hand, effectively stopping any words from coming out of his mouth, "I didn't go through fucking therapy and hours of counseling with my father to gain any sort of confidence just to lose it to a bunch of men with no morality. So just shut up."

Anais left the tent and stomped off towards the quarry for solace within the water. Petyr stared down at the spot she'd set in not only seconds earlier, hearing the words reverberate within his mind as if it was a terrible bee's sting. She was right but Petyr was too.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	23. Mongrel Heart

**Mongrel Heart**

Daryl didn't forget what Anais for him back in the camp and he didn't forget the way she stood up for his brother against her own brother. Everyone in camp had heard that. So when Daryl watched the woman stomp down the trail to the quarry he didn't wait to follow after her.

She was a creature of habit. Down by the dock, at the very end with her feet dangling off the wood planks so she could dip her toes in the water, Daryl found her humming lightly to herself as she looked to be contemplating the world around her.

Daryl knew she could hear him coming down the dock. So when he finally reached the end of the wood structure she glanced up at him with a slight smile. Her green eyes were dark, even with the sun's light shining in them. It was as if a storm were brewing in them. One he couldn't quite comprehend.

"Glad you're still alive," she joked while turning back around to dip her toes into the water. The water rippled around the digits and dissipated the farther they rolled out. Daryl sat down next to her and let his feet hang over the edge listlessly, "I ain't gonna die unless it's by my own willin'."

"Well thank god for that," she sighed, a small smile on the corner of her mouth. "Are you going to go after him?"

"Yeah," Daryl muttered chewing on the corner of his thumb out of habit. She nodded, pleased, "Good."

Daryl couldn't help but smile then and nodded in agreement, "Thanks – for back there."

"I didn't just do it for you," she pointed out insistently. Daryl looked to her, expecting Anais to explain but she didn't. She just smiled up into the blue sky and started to hum as she began to forgo removing her top and shorts, then proceeded to jump into the quarry without a second thought. Daryl watched her swim for a good while before he finally realized what she'd meant. She'd done it for herself. Daryl smirked and continued to watch Anais with his clear blue gaze. He admired the view, let it sink into his memory, of the fluid water caressing the patches of bare skin. It was something to remember and think kindly upon while he was out in the big bad dead world. And then before he knew it, it was time to go.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	24. I Need My Girl

**I Need My Girl**

Petyr had been around the fire with Amy and Lori while Rick had explained to Shane why he was going back for Merle. "Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"

After leaving Anais by the docks to release her frustrations through swimming, Daryl rejoined the camp by the fire, giving Petyr a few hairy looks throughout the hour. But when Shane had started dogging Rick about Merle as well, he couldn't just stay silent any longer, "Hey, choose your words more carefully."

"Oh no, I did. Douche bag's what I meant. Merle Dixon – the guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst," Shane muttered bitterly. Petyr couldn't agree any less with that statement but Anais's words were still ringing through his ears, and he almost felt a slight pang of guilt for the man that was left behind.

The look on Rick's face said something otherwise and Petyr wondered silently what had changed the cop's mind as well, "What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst – me. Thirst and exposure."

Petyr wondered quietly if Rick had heard Anais's choice words from earlier. Who was he kidding? Of course he had. The entire _damn_ camp had. The look in Rick's eyes said everything – she was right. Morally it was not right to leave another human being to die, no matter _who_ or _what_ that person was or did.

"We left him like an animal caught in a trap," Rick told Shane, but his eyes wandered over to Petyr as if he was also trying to reason with him. "That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked unconvinced by the fire. Rick then turned to Glenn, who they all knew could get through the city faster than anyone of them without being seen.

Glenn grimaced, "Oh, come on…"

"You know the way. You've been there before – in and out, no problem. You said so yourself," Rick urged, hoping his convincing would do the job. Petyr almost felt bad for the kid. But he had to admit, Rick was right.

"It's not fair of me to ask – I know. But I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too," Rick looked over at his wife, who was in silent agreement. That only seemed to irk Shane even more.

"That's just great. Now you're gonna risk three men, huh?"

"Four," came a very calm answer from T-dog. Daryl looked back at him pointedly and scoffed shaking his head, "My day just gets better and better, don't it?"

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T-dog asked, trying to defend himself.

"Why you?" Daryl asked listlessly, while cleaning his arrows.

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language," the black man spoke surely down at the redneck.

Shane went on further trying to convince Rick that this plan was terrible, only because they were making the camp less safe by taking four men. The walker or creeper from earlier that morning was his key point. "It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."

"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns," Rick suggested, looking at his former partner with some hope.

"Right, the guns," Glenn breathed with a remembrance from back in the city.

"What guns?" Shane asked, an interest gleaming over his eyes.

While Rick explained what kind of inventory of artillery he had back in the city, Petyr bit the bottom of his lip and looked back at Anais's car. In the trunk were a slew of rifles, shotguns, handguns and more. He could even remember the store they had raided right outside of the Columbus outskirts. The store had been locked and looked seemingly abandoned but that was the first time Anais or Petyr had actually tried their hand at taking down a creeper. Petyr could still remember the look in Anais's eyes; they were dark and troubled eyes. Every time she took one down, those eyes were there and the pain that hid behind them.

The group broke up after the discussion had ended and Petyr rose from the spot on his log in a daze to head back to the tent. His mind hadn't left the thought of Anais, so when Rick approached the man he jumped; startled by the fact that Rick was there. The officer looked at him with concern, "Can I have a word with you?"

Petyr nodded and followed Rick back to the overlook of the quarry, finding a small dot sitting on the edge of the dock. "I know it's none of my business, but I just had to say that your sister is right."

The words that left Rick's mouth didn't really surprise Petyr. In a way, he gathered from the conversation earlier that Rick had considered Anais's words. Petyr lightly chuckled, giving Rick a quick glance before raising his hand over his eyes to cover them from the sun. It helped him to see Anais just a little better, she was lying out on the dock, her arms splayed out on the wood to feel the warmth of the sun's rays. "FYI, just so you don't embarrass yourself in front of the entire group, she's not my biological sister. But we have been together ever since shit hit the fan."

Rick snickered, "Well, she really treats you like a brother."

There was a pregnant pause before Rick continued, this time he turned to face the man next to him, "Don't let my problems affect your relationship. In the end, you've only got each other."

Petyr stared at Rick for a long while before turning back to the dot on the dock. "I've been thinking about it ever since she left the tent. I just wanted to protect her. The whole thing she has with Daryl – I just wanted to protect her..."

Rick smiled softly, "I think she's old enough to know when to walk away."

Rick left Petyr after that. The cube van that they drove back in from Atlanta was turned around and Daryl was in a hurry to get on the road, slamming the van's horn with the heel of his boot to get the others going. By the time Anais had ventured up the path, they were gone.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	25. Heads Will Roll

**Heads Will Roll**

Anais found herself sitting next to Amy later that evening, after Daryl left on his mission to save his brother, ready to scrub away at dirty clothing that had piled up just in the past few days. There was a very unhappy feeling amongst the women when Ed, Carol's husband, decided to watch them from the latch of his Cherokee, as if they were in some sort of concentration camp. It was this unsettling little moment, when Ed decided to 'take charge', to put 'women in their place', that Anais realized nothing had changed – that people never change.

Everything had been going fine and dandy. Anais and the other women of the camp had been just laughing and sharing stories with one another. She even had to admit that for once, in all her time spent in that camp, Anais felt like one of the girls – as though she could finally fit in.

Ed ruined it all though. His smart ass mouth and few poorly choice words set the group of women in a bit of a fit and Anais found herself backing down from the ciaos that was erupting in front of her. Flashes of memories pierced her thoughts, flickering images of her dad and mom, the arguments, the verbal abuse, and sometimes… the physical.

Anais stumbled away from the gang of women trying to peel Carol away from Ed before Shane burst into the scene to beat the man into a bloody pulp. She felt like her world was spinning, her world caving in on herself and then suddenly she couldn't breathe.

"Anais?" Amy called, the warmth of her touch barely bringing the panicked young woman back from the abyss of her thoughts. The wild look in her friend's eyes was enough to encourage Amy to wrap her arms around her friend. "It's alright, it's all over. Ed's not gonna hurt any of us."

Amy held Anais for a while longer, at least until some men from camp were able to help Ed back into camp and Petyr had showed up to check on everyone. He took her back to their tent and forced her to take a nap, much to her displeasure. But Amy stood by with watchful eyes and couldn't help but worry for her closest friend.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	26. Temni Ochi

**Temni Ochi**

Anais stared across the campfire at Jim after finishing her meal, which for once in a while wasn't totally charred. But it wasn't the food that stuck on her mind when she gazed across the fire at the dark eyed man.

He looked like the world was heavy on his shoulders, weighing on him so much that it would engulf him right before their eyes. She shared those dark eyes earlier that morning, when nothing but once forgotten memories were consuming her soul, eating her alive, and bringing nothing but fear back into her heart.

Anais shook the thoughts from her mind, remembering this was not the place nor ever the time to loose herself to something she could never change. She had to move on, let go, and remember she had control of her life, not the memories.

But Jim… he seemed plagued by them.

Dale was sharing a story about his watch, while Anais contemplated the events that had happened that day. She'd missed when Shane had to tie up Jim. Petyr had said he was digging holes up on an overlook of the camp. And for some reason this concerned everyone…

"Where are you going?" Andre asked suddenly, her gaze curious as she watched her sister stand and maneuver around her chair.

"I have to pee," Amy groaned, embarrassment flushing her cheeks, "Jeez, you try to be discreet around here…"

The group around the fire chuckled, amused not only because of the situation but also because Amy was right. In this place privacy was a gift and one nearly everyone cherished.

For the few minutes that were to come, Anais actually felt like her heart was at ease. But the minute she heard Amy's cry of pain, Anais drew all of her lovely hopes and dreams away, taking in the sight of her best friend being torn into like a piece of steak. That was the first time Anais screamed. Petyr, who stood next to her, his gaze watching the very same event unfold before him, had never ever anticipated to hear such a sound form from her lips.

Reflexes kicked in, and Petyr placed his hand over Anais's mouth so that she would not make another sound to draw the creepers to her. He gathered her up by the waist – she was already so small and frail from the sudden weight loss and it was like picking up a plastic bag at the grocery - and followed Shane to the RV, his shotgun blasting a path to safety. The creepers were everywhere, crawling, dragging, moaning and groaning. They looked like feral animals dying for their first meal in months. Had it been months? No, weeks maybe, but definitely not months.

Andrea was already trying her best to console her dying sister, tears streaking her sun kissed cheeks. Shane was spouting off commands to everyone to get to get to the camper, but it was all just a massive caotic mess. There was no hope for the panic, they were being torn apart, chewed on by the neck, arms, legs… It was a feeding frenzy. The kind you would watch on Shark Week when the bucket of slop would stain the ocean surface. There was no hope.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	27. Bottom of the River

**Bottom of the River**

Daryl rushed into the camp, his gaze scanning the scene with a hunter's skill. Within that one sweep of the camp, he'd plotted out each and every geek that was in the assault. He quickly went to work, his instincts kicking into full drive, and a sudden thought of a particular girl becoming one of the creeps.

Daryl bashed the brains in of one geek with the butt of his shot gun, his blue eyes finding Petyr near the RV with Shane and Anais in his arms, his hand covering her mouth to keep the screams that were threatening to escape to be muffled. Something in the Dixon didn't settle well with the thought of this tough girl caving in and losing her senses to the moment. But then again, there was nothing but blood and death all around them. Perhaps she finally broke.

When the geeks were cleared, Carl was finally released from his mother's grip and he ran to his father, fear still etched into his features like a finely sculpted rock. There were no words for what had just happened. The child clearly just wanted to be safe in his dad's grasp.

Petyr eased his grip on Anais, who was staring at the mass carnage with doe like eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing and to no amount of viewing would it ever get better. There was no unseeing what she just had. Nobody had particularly seen such a moment before. This was what Hell must have looked like...

Daryl slowly eased over to Anais, his blue pools looking her over discreetly to make sure she was not bit. He was relieved to see none but the way she looked up at him with shaking hands didn't ease the worry in him like he wished it would have when he knew she was in the clear. That angered him, if only a little. He was mad at himself for even considering caring for her. But in reality he'd already been doing that the moment he'd started hunting food for her, the moment he'd seen the little pin hole marks all over her abdomen, and even the moment she'd gotten out of the water butt naked in front of him after he'd had to chase his brother off to save her decency. He'd hated her for not saying anything to him, but that was no more a lie than the actual truth. He'd liked how she didn't have to say a word just to get under his skin, to get him riled up, or to get him talking. She was like him and she knew it. She took advantage of it.

"You alright?" Daryl asked, biting the side of his thumb, his gaze peering down at her as he settled the shotgun in the crook of his arm. Anais's large eyes suddenly seemed to see Daryl as if she'd no idea he'd been there the whole time. When she finally swallowed down her fear and took a deep breath, she nodded slowly and stared down at her shoes in shame.

"No you ain't," Daryl chided, a growl forming at the end of his sentence out of frustration. He gripped her wrist and dragged her down to the quarry where he sat her down by the water's edge and slowly began to wash her hands for her, slowly caressing each and every curve and crevice, washing out the dirt that had accumulated through their escape to the RV. Anais watched Daryl silently, her lip trembling the more she thought about all the bad that had just happened. Daryl gazed up at her face once more, only to find a few tears rolling down her cheeks. He stopped cleaning her and watched as she continued to let go of everything she'd been holding in.

In the night, underneath the light of the moon, their silhouettes met for a few minutes as Anais rested her forehead against Daryl's shoulder and she cried as silently as she could into the dirty fabric. Daryl didn't move, didn't say a word. He just let her do what she needed and she in return gave him the relief of a craving he hadn't known he'd been wanting.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.

**A/N: **I want to apologizes for the grammar and spelling mistakes. This is just an revision chapter for all those mistakes. Nothing new.


	28. After the Curtain

**After the Curtain**

Petyr walked Anais over to the dead, pale, and limp form lying in front of Andrea. Lori had spoken with the grieving woman earlier that morning. But there was no response from her. After Rick had approached Andrea and only received the end of a gun at his face was the last straw. The others had asked Petyr if Anais could give her a go. But even the young woman shook her head. "Let her grieve. She deserves at least that."

So, Petyr, still concerned over Anais's welfare, walked the only person he cared for over to the corpse that was her good friend. Anais eased herself to the ground, a blank look crossing her features as she looked up at Andrea for a second before returning her gaze back to Amy. The flesh gone from Amy's arm and her neck were an angry red and Anais briefly wondered if Amy had screamed because it hurt or because she was terrified for her life. Either way, Anais shook the answers out of her head and leaned forward to brush the few strands of blonde hair out of Amy's face. "You were kind to me," she began, a sob catching in her throat. "Both of you. When I was afraid of passed judgement, you both were kind to me. She was my friend. Someone I wanted to look out for and in return she did the same for me."

Andrea didn't say anything, but continued to rub circles onto the skin of her sister's hand that she held so closely. "This wasn't right or fair!"

Petyr watched as Anais let the tears creep up and run down her cheeks. In silent whispers to herself, only in range of Petyr and Andrea did they hear, _"It should have been me. God, why wasn't it me?"_

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	29. Diggin' A Grave

**Diggin' A Grave**

There was nothing left but to clean out the bodies of the dead and their dead. It was agreed upon that there would be two different piles, the bonfire to the invaders and the pile meant for their buried. But somewhere in between the heat of the day, the stress of the situation and the fear of what was next caused a rift between the only Dixon now left in the camp and their well respected pizza delivery boy.

Daryl was only trying to ensure that nothing would come back to bite them in the ass and his reasoning was good with that solid logic. But where Daryl lacked in sentimentality and morality, Glen made up for in the defense of their dead. Tempers flared and words were exchanged between both parties but it was all agreed upon in the end that whether it was the fire or a grave, they needed to ensure that nobody came back from the dead.

Petyr had ended up helping Morales after Daryl's little spat, but it wasn't long after everyone had gotten back to work that a new issue had presented itself.

T-Dog held a very hysterical looking Jim by the arms as Daryl lifted up the man's shirt to expose the bright and terribly infected bite on his abdomen. It was Jackie's cries that had alerted the situation and now that it had brought their group even more to stress upon, every single person stared at their dear friend with sympathy, pity, and sadness. His fate was clearly out of their hands.

While the others spoke over the circumstances and the next best choice, Anais, who was the only one not afraid to tend to their friend, helped Jim into the RV much like he had done for her only so many weeks earlier. "Just lie down Jim."

The taller man slid down into the makeshift bed in the back of the RV and eased a pillow behind himself to prop up. There was an uncomfortable range of emotions that crossed his face and it was obvious he was starting to feel the pain from his predicament. Anais tried her best to make him feel at ease, gathering a bowl of cool water from the quarry to allow a damp cloth to help with the setting fever. "I'm so sorry my friend," Anais murmured as she wiped the sweat from his brow and went to wet the cloth again to place upon his forehead. Jim gave her a small smile, "It is not your fault. You remember that, will you? There is a reason for everything and I imagine this is god's way of sayin', _'Jim, it's time'_."

Anais gave a slight smile, more forced for the man that laid before her. She didn't want to upset him any further by bringing more tears upon herself but deep down she cried and cried again, never realizing until that day how much it really hurt to loose someone you cared about. Even worse, having to sit there and watch them die. She couldn't imagine a worse way of grieving.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	30. Sign of the Judgement

**Sign of the Judgment**

It was no rumor that Daryl had tried his hand at taking matters into his own hands. Not even to Anais. She'd seen it when he'd held a pickaxe to Jim's head, ready to take the poor bastard out after nobody would make a decision on the matter. But here lied Jim, in Anais's care, as she continued to try her best at taming his fever.

The rule was that nobody would kill the living. It was a just and honorable rule - moral and right. But something down in Anais's heart knew that this ideal rule would not live a long and hopeful life. Something down in the pit of her soul, though she truly believed in such a rule with all her heart, knew it would only be for now, in this very moment in time. Something would happen and then things will change.

But for now, the judgement had been made. No killing the living.

When Jim was finally asleep and Anais could pull herself away from guard duty, Petyr urged her to follow him up the hill with the rest of their group to pay their respects to their dead. They walked in silence, remembering those that had been with them from the beginning. One family in particular was Dave, Sarah and their precious little bundle of joy, Noah. It had been a shock to both of them, to find their mangle bodies among the many that they'd grown to know over the past few weeks. But to see them, the one family they'd picked up in Tennessee from the very beginning, had touched something in their hearts that none of the others had.

So when it came to putting them to rest, Petyr dragged both Dave and Sarah into a grave together and Anais, cradling Noah's limp form, rested the little boy in their arms. It was a quick arrangement but Anais thought it the right thing to do. Both said a prayer and quickly filled the grave with the dirt left over.

Andrea brought Amy's body to the next grave and Anais did her best to help. Dale even tried, the fatherly instinct running through his veins like it were his own red blood cells keeping him alive. After saying some words, Petyr and Dale filled the grave and Anais gave Andrea the bundle of wildflowers she'd picked for the occasion.

With the graves buried, Anais walked Andrea back down to the camp, following behind the rest of the group. Slowly they eased behind, a whisper of words wanting to be said, but not quite sure how to be brought up. Instead, Anais brought Andrea into a hug and let her friend cry into her shoulder. When she calmed down, she pulled away from the embrace, wiping her tears from her eyes and gripped onto Anais's hand, "You said it should have been you."

Anais, had hoped Andrea had forgotten what she'd said only hours earlier. Not because Anais was ashamed of what she said but because it had not been right to say such selfish things to those that were grieving. This was not about Anais, this was about Andrea and her sister she'd just lost. Andrea pulled her into an embrace one last time before kissing Anais's temple, "Don't you ever say that. Amy would have never wanted that."

And with that, Andrea left the young girl on the dirty trail - left with her friend's ringing words. They felt heavy on her stomach, weighed more than anything else on her mind and it was then that Anais realized that she had to live for Amy. She needed to prove that even the weakest of their group could survive in this new and desolate world.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	31. Darkness and the Light

**Darkness and the Light**

There was something happening. There was a masked power struggle, thick in the air, if only everyone were more conscious of their surroundings. Daryl was sure he wasn't the only one to feel it or even notice it - when the two cops were even within viewing range of one another. He was positive Petyr could see it. The passive pharmacist wasn't stupid – if he'd gotten both himself and Anais down this far in this shit hole, he wasn't stupid.

Daryl knew the right thing to do in such a situation would be to get out. But he just couldn't leave. Not only was there safety in numbers but he was positive his brother would come back for a hell filled vengeance. But there was also the girl. The sick girl. His sick girl. His?

Daryl shook his head and looked back to his tent that he'd shared with his brother, beginning to disassemble the flimsy synthetic material and stuffing all the pieces into a bag that would then be thrown into the bed of his blue truck. His… what was he thinking? Whatever in his right mind made him decide that was even okay to think?

Looking back up from his tent to spot Anais checking her supplies within her black bag, he wondered where this had all begun. Had it been the first night they met? Or had it been when he'd seen the little marks on her abdomen? He wasn't sure and he honestly shouldn't care. One thing was for curtain, he wasn't going to leave her behind either.

He'd made a promise to keep her alive and he was going to keep to that. But was it also wrong of him to take a little more out of this relationship they shared? Was it wrong of him to enjoy just being around her, talking to her, touching her? Yes or no?

He couldn't answer. Not even his own damn question.

Daryl grumbled, throwing the tent into the trucks bed and then biting the corner of his thumb. He hoped that where they were going – the CDC from what Rick had mention - they would be safe, that she would be safe, that she would have the medication she would need to survive. Daryl just hoped for that one little thing and he would hope for nothing else – ask for nothing else.

"Daryl," her soft voice called from behind him. He'd turned to find her wide eyes staring up at him, much like a doe caught sight in the woods.

"Mmh?" was all he could muster up, but his features softened at the sight of her and so her cautious mannerisms eased too.

"Could you take care of this?" she asked, handing him the black bag. He looked up at her dumbfounded. "I'd feel better if it was with you."

Daryl nodded, handling the bag with much better care than he did his tent, opened the driver's door and carefully set the bag underneath the trucks bench, out of sight and out of mind. "Come and get me when you need it."

She nodded, a small smile twitching at her lips, and then hurried off to help the others around camp to pack.

Yeah, he wasn't going to leave his sick girl. Not a fuckin chance.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	32. I'll Believe In Anything

**I'll Believe In Anything**

When the lot of them – Rick and his family, Shane, Glen, Andrea, T-Dog, Carol and her daughter, Jacqui, Dale, Glen, Daryl, Petyr, and Anais – came to a slow and dreaded stop in front of what seemed like a former battle zone, but now was a No Man's Land. Concrete blockades were laid about thoughtlessly with sandbag forts built around them. The dead rested, hung, and perched all over the battle ground, flies filling the air with a sound quite similar to the static white noise from a useless television.

Quickly, everyone managed to gather their courage to get together and walk through that No Man's Land. Anais confronted Daryl before their entering the unknown, her black bag strapped to his back, knowing she would need it if they were able to enter the supposed haven that sat before them.

The building was a typical government own facility, with architectural influences of the 80's and 90's. The grounds of the facility would have been beautiful, surely before the end of the world, with its lush grass and strategically places flowers. But now it just seemed like a waist land. The group continued on, getting closer to each other the further they reached to the front gates.

The flies and the smell became worse, the dead getting thicker upon the ground, blood sticking to the hot cement. The weaker ones of the group were becoming unnerved and their counterparts becoming more alert of their surroundings. Daryl was poised with his crossbow, his eyes on every single body within range of their group, and Anais not far from his crosshairs.

"Stay close," Rick ordered, "Keep moving."

Shane would shush the others that would begin to mumble, talk, or even yelp at the sight of dead things. They needed to remain unseen, which was a reasonable logic.

"We're almost there, baby," Lori would tell her son that she wouldn't even let go of. Sophia was in quite the same predicament with her mother. But Anais reasoned if it were her own child she'd do the same.

The doors of the CDC were there, right in front of them, and something didn't seem right. They were blocked, steel gates pulled down over where the doors should be. Dread started to fill not only Petyr and Anais's chests but the others as well. Rick was the only one that seemed to continue on, as if that was the only course. Rick looked around the walls for a button, lock, anything as Shane pressed his back to the gate and tried to push it up by force.

Shane pounded on the door, T-dog stated the obvious, "There's nobody here."

It's what they all didn't want to hear. Rick, "Then why are these shutters down?"

"Walkers!" Daryl alerted the group. Anais's head spun around in Daryl's direction. He was aiming for a lone roamer across the lawn heading their way. The children started to panic, their mothers clinging to them out of fear. Guns cocked from all sides, Glen, Shane, T-Dog, Rick and Daryl. Daryl took the creeper out, a perfect aim for the forehead. Daryl turned hotly, "You lead us into a graveyard!"

He gripped Anais's arm and pushed her behind him as he kept his sights for the other walkers.

"He made a call," Shane defended. Daryl, "It was the wrong damn call!"

"Just shut up. You hear me? Shut up!" Shane hissed to the boiling redneck. Shane then turned on Rick to quickly adjust to the situation, "Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol cried, her tears welling up in her eyes. Anais couldn't deny that she also had tears brimming in her eyes, an egg welling up in her throat as she held back a sob. Petyr was also afraid but was trying his best to be a pillar for his adopted family; he grabbed for Anais after Daryl started to guard their group like a hound, and pressed her to his side, holding on for dear life.

"We can't be here, this close to the city after dark," Lori explained on a single breath, Carl groaning fearfully into his mother's side. Rick turned around back to the gates of the building, thinking, but Shane was back on him, "Fort Benning, Rick – still an option."

"On what?" Andrea asked, "No food, no fuel. That's one hundred miles."

"125," Glen interjected, "I checked the map."

"Forget Fort Benning. We need answers tonight, now!" Lori demanded.

Rick was trying to keep it together, he really was. But the panic in his voice was clear, "We'll think of something."

"Let's go," Shane began, pushing people back to the vehicles, "Let's get out of here."

Petyr began walking Anais back to the car - they all were just a few feet away from where hope had been a possibility, when Rick called them back, "The camera – it moved."

"You imagined it," Dale pleaded, wishing for Rick to just give up and follow them back to the cars. But Rick insisted, "It moved."

They eased back over as Rick talked to Shane quietly, Rick insisting that there was someone inside. "Man, just listen to me."

"No," Rick growled like a frustrated dog.

"It's dead," Shane growled back, gripping Rick's collar to pull him away, "You need to let it go, Rick."

Rick pushed Shane away and slammed his fists on the gates, "I know you're in there. I know you can hear me."

Petyr pulled Anais again, her arm becoming sore and almost raw from all the pushing and pulling, "Petyr, please!"

"Common, there's nothing here," he insisted, his sights set on their black car, as if it were the only safety net in the world. Daryl was close on their heels, as were Dale, the children and their mothers, and Jacqui. Glen followed up with the shotgun for safe measure, but T-Dog and Shane were trying to get Rick to follow them back to the cars.

The roamers were starting to pick up in numbers and Petyr slowed their group down, realizing they were surrounded. He eased back, Lori ran back to her husband so that he would leave the idea be and help them back to the cars.

Rick, "If you don't let us in, you're killing us!"

As Rick repeated this phrase, Shane finally grabbed his friend around the chest and began to drag him away from the building. When Petyr reasoned their group was together he began to lead the way back. But a hissing sound stopped the panic all around them. A hot white light blinded them in the dark and when their visions cleared, their pupils adjusting to the light, they realized that hope had just given them its hand.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	33. Silver Soul

**Silver Soul**

Jenner, their hero in the sea of dead, only asked one thing of them for exchange of hope and the gift of life – Blood. A blood test, something so mundane to Anais, something she did every day – at least once now. But before the world went to shit, three times or even four was a walk in the park. Blood tests were a breeze to her and as she watched the others have their blood drawn, she realized how lucky she had been.

When it was her turn to get pricked, Anais sat before Jenner and watched him disinfect her patch of skin before he sunk the thick needle into the crook of her arm. Drawing out a small sample, he placed a label on the tube and then sent her on to bring up his next victim, Andrea.

After their testing, Jenner turned them loose into the cafeteria, were they wined and dined to their hearts content. Petyr and Anais giggled from their seats as they watched Glen get sloshed and Daryl pressuring the kid to drink more. Carl tried his first sip of the coming-of-age drink and his reaction was priceless, something everyone in the group would treasure memorably in the rough roads to come.

Rick thanked their host, who seemed down – the world weighing upon him tenfold with the new tenants. Anais wondered what bothered him so, but quietly let it drift into the back of her mind as she took another sip of wine, her thoughts becoming muddled and fuzzy.

Shane killed that fuzz, bringing up what secretly they were all thinking in the back of their paranoid minds. What was going on out there? What was happening to the world, to their friends, family, coworkers?

"Well, when things got bad a lot of people just left – went off to be with their families," Jenner began honestly, no riddles, no fancy words - just the simple honest truth. "And when things got worse, when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane asked, but knew the answer anyway.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door," Jenner clarified, "They… opted out.

"There was a rash of suicides. That was a bad time," Jenner remarked quietly, the many faces around the table becoming solemn and uncomfortable. Petyr even seemed to squirm in his chair, his knee bouncing up and down as the red liquid in his glass sloshed with the impacts.

"You didn't leave," Andrea pointed out, soft and gentle. But her next question was harder, "Why?"

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good," Jenner answered and Anais reasoned he was truly honest, the light in his eyes expressing what had been hope.

"Dude, you are such a buzzkill, man," Glen groaned at Shane, speaking what needed to be said, what they were all thinking.

…

Jenner gave the group a tour through the building, mapping out their sleeping quarters, showers, and rec room. When he'd mentioned to ration the hot water, Anais was certain every person had just heard the word 'hot' and sprinted for the bathrooms. As others were off cleaning themselves in scalding water, Anais picked a room for her and Petyr, next to Daryl's, and began to prep for her shot. Jenner stopped outside her door and knocked on the frame to get her attention, "Anais, right?"

The brown tendrils of her hair bobbed up and down with the motion of her head, "Yeah, what's up?"

He watched her take out a syringe and glass bottle, the two and two clicking in his brain to give him the answer he needed, "Your blood test was the only one I was worried about."

Anais paused, "I'm not infected am I?"

The nervousness in her voice caused Jenner to back track quickly, "No, no! What I meant was – well, your levels. They were high, the overall, assuming you had been fasting for the last twelve hours."

"I know," she said quietly, not looking at him as she continued to fill the syringe and place it into the fatty tissue of her abdomen. Jenner watched as she pushed the insulin in and then cleaned up her mess before any of the children saw what kind of trouble she went through.

Jenner entered the room, closing the door halfway before taking the clear bottle in Anais's hand, "Do you need more?"

Anais slowly looked up, her eyes glassy now, moved by the notion that this man was truly an angel in disguise, "Always."

Jenner nodded, taking the bottle with him after he'd placed a firm hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. He left the room, leaving her to wonder how much longer she could go like this, wondering if she'd ever run out and when she did what would become of her?

…

Daryl sat on the couch in Anais's room, still sipping out of the bottle of wine he'd started off with down in the cafeteria. He watched the girl in the bathroom through the small crack of the door undress slowly and turned her back on him. He wanted to groan from the wave of an emotion he'd thought he'd long forgotten. When she talked to him through the door it helped to make him quickly forget what he was feeling, "How much have you had to drink?"

The chuckle in her voice eased a small smirk on his lips, "Enough to get me drunk."

"How drunk is the real question," she said more to herself than to him. He took that as a challenge though and quickly gathered up his courage after hearing the spray of the shower pelt the tiles on the floor. Daryl left the bottle on the ground next to the sofa and entered the bathroom, tearing his shirt over top of his head. Anais squealed with laughter after spotting him through the mirror, his pants already down and his boxers quickly following suit. She ducked back into the shower and shielded her eyes, "Drunk enough. I shouldn't have said anything."

She was still giggling, her own buzz enabling thoughts to cross her mind that she normally wouldn't have allowed. Daryl entered the shower grinning wickedly and took Anais's hands into his so that she would look at him, "Too innocent to look at a guy aren't you? Bet you haven't seen a guy's junk before."

"Daryl fuckin' Dixon, do I have to remind you I was a fine arts student and the very first class I took in college was figure drawing? The first day they had a nude male model the size of Peter Griffin."

"Peter Griffin?" Daryl asked, his nose scrunching up with confusion. Anais chuckled to herself, "Never mind, just hand me the damn soap."

Daryl laughed darkly, "Oh, I can definitely hand you the soap."

Daryl was met with a middle finger, which he gave right back to her. Laughter spilled out of the bathroom with more curses and dirty words than a sailor could be proud of.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	34. Little Monster

**Little Monster**

Petyr lazily strolled down the hall towards the rec room in hopes to find some reading material. It had been far too long since he'd had his nose stuffed in the cream colored pages of a novel, memoir, or even something of non-fiction. He was a studious man, which would've explained his field of studies in college, but there was always something about getting lost in a fantastical world – one where he could forget all his woes and troubles. He was crossing his fingers that there would be at least one book that would snag his attention.

Petyr grinned and told Carol, Sophia, and Carl hello as they passed one another in the hall – Carol on her way to tuck in Sophia as any good mother would do for their daughter. Petyr lightly wondered if Anais's mother had done the same when she had been Sophia's age.

On his way around the corner, Petyr noticed the door to the rec room shut with a controlled snap. Curiously, he eased his way to the door and leaned in to listen. Inside, he could hear Shane's voice almost muffled enough for him to miss particular words, but he could also hear Lori – her alto pitched voice just on the edge of being short and temperamental.

"When is it ever the time?" came Shane with a light sarcastic chuckle. There was a silence, then Shane's muffled voice and a quick quip from Lori, "You're kidding, right?"

"No," Shane answered with a controlled anger.

"Because you told me my husband was dead," Lori snapped. Petyr bit his lip and furrowed his brows as he leaned into the door to listen closer.

"Jesus, Lori," Shane groaned. "I didn't lie to you, all right? I didn't. Hey, do you know what it was like out there?"

The almost pleading tone in Shane's voice, as he listened to another door slam shut, made Petyr roll his eyes silently, "Things were falling apart. They were slaughtering people in the hallways. It was a massacre. There were walkers everywhere."

"So you left him?" Lori pointed out, clearly wanting to end the conversation. "Everybody else ran."

Petyr wondered why Shane was even trying to defend himself while it was obviously clear that Lori did not care what Shane would say to her. "There were no doctors there. It was just me. He was hooked up to machines and I did not know what to do. I even took my ear and I put it on his chest and I listened for a heartbeat and I did not hear one!"

"And I- I don't know why. Maybe it was gunfire. I don't know what it was, but there was no way he could've survived that. No way," Shane's desperateness was oozing like an old pussy wound and it made Petyr almost sick to his stomach.

"He did," Lori answered back matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, but then I had y'all to think about, didn't I?" Shane asked, the desperation pushing even harder. "I had you and Carl, and I needed to think about-"

"Okay. No, no-" Lori said quickly. Petyr suddenly straightened, his heart pounding in his chest when he started to hear the situation going south. "That's what I had to do!"

"Just stop," Shane said, the sound of a table's legs scraping across the floor didn't ease Petyr's thoughts. "If you thought for one second that he was still alive, would you have come?"

It got quiet then, muffling from Shane's voice as Petyr strained to hear. Then suddenly, "No, you're drunk."

"Shane. Shane. Shane!" Lori cried with a struggle, "Get your hands off me."

Petyr had to decide then and there whether to go in or not. He would be helping Lori but then crossing paths with Shane, and something did not bode well in Petyr when it came to that man. But Petyr being the person that he was couldn't just stand back and let it happen. If anything he could walk in at the right moment…

"Please! No!"

A sudden scream from Shane alerted Petyr and he took that chance to walk in before anything else transpired between the two. Grasping the handle of the door and turning it he stepped through the door like he'd no idea what had just happened and paused at the door, the look of surprise clear as day on his face. Both Lori and Shane stopped, the tension still there, but the evident surprise also on their faces. Petyr glanced at the two before piping up, "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

Shane could note the jab made towards him, his eyes narrowing but the look on Lori's face was one of relief. Lori let out a breath of happiness, "No, it's alright. Shane was just about to leave."

Both Lori and Petyr then looked to Shane, who clenched his fists and then stomped out of the rec room, pushing past Petyr and their shoulders hitting. Petyr rolled his eyes after Shane had left and then turned back to Lori who was now hiding her face in her hands. Petyr closed the door behind him softly and then walked over to Lori with a gentle sort of touch to her shoulder. She was shaking and Petyr shushed her as the tears started to fall from her cheeks. Petyr took Lori in to his arms and patted her head as she cried into his shirt, "It's okay. He's gone."

Petyr continued to tell her this and she would bob her head up and down in acknowledgement but would still let the tears fall from her eyes. It was from that night on Petyr would keep his eye on Shane. The man was a loose cannon and he was sure as hell wouldn't let him touch Anais.

…

**Disclaimer****:** I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


	35. I Got Mine

**I Got Mine**

Jenner knocked on the oak office door lightly after hearing various levels of obscenities being thrown about the room as if the two people inside were saying hello to one another. The door flew open and Jenner was met with the one fellow he felt more dodgy glances from than any of the other tenants. Daryl was his name, if he'd remembered it right, and he stared back at Jenner with that dodgy gaze as if he were sizing the doctor up – trying to make sure he could be trusted.

"Daryl, let the poor man in," came the gentle urges of Anais. She stumbled to the door and grabbed the crook of Daryl's arm lightly to show the redneck that it was okay. Anais smiled up at Jenner but he could clearly see the glassy orbs under her hooded lids – she was drunk.

"I just wanted to give you these," Jenner cleared his throat and held out a lunch box filled with the medication that she needed. It wasn't like Jenner would be using it, so why not give it to one that could?

Anais's drunken eyes glittered at the sight, "Really?"

Jenner chuckled and nodded, "Just ration it out. I can't imagen what it would be like to find more."

Anais became teary eyed, her bottom lip trembling. Daryl gave a snort and rolled his eyes, "You gonna get all mushy on me?"

Anais punched Daryl in the arm and wiped the tears from her eyes before he hugged Jenner around his waist, "Thank you."

Jenner nodded awkwardly and said goodnight to the two before walking off down the hall.

…

Daryl watched from the firm office couch as the runty brunette girl fumbled with a syringe and one of the glass vials in front of her. She pulled the prescribed amount and then lifted her grey shirt up just past her belly button allowing the slightly buzzed redneck a privately cherished image of the soft yet slightly bruised abdomen. Perverted little shit, Daryl told himself in his head as he tried to avert his eyes but found they were solidly locked in place and hand no desire to move.

Covering her stomach again, Anais closed her eyes and gave a soft smile before pitching the needle and stowing the vial away for safe keeping. She looked to Daryl after she finished a curious look in her darkening eyes. "What?"

"Nothin'," Daryl said a little too quickly. Anais's eyes narrowed and Daryl knew he'd been caught. How the hell could she do that? It was like she could read his mind. "I don't want to tell you. You'll laugh."

"Do I ever laugh at you?" she asked, her eyes softening a little as she crawled across the floor to the edge of the couch. She leaned against it, her eyes looking to the other end of the room were a waste basket sat and a litter of paper wads rest around it – only a few of them actually inside the basket. Daryl chewed the corner of his thumb out of habit and shortly came to his conclusion, "No, s'pose not."

"No is correct," she turned her head to look at him pointedly but then smiled, "So, what were you thinking?"

Daryl, still very much a lush and his brain all muddled with strange thoughts, leaned in closer to Anais – his face a mere few inches from hers as he stared down at her lips and then back up at her eyes. There was a darkness that filled those blue eyes and for a second Anais wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know what Daryl was thinking. Daryl brushed the few strands of hair behind Anais's ear before letting anyone of his thoughts out past his lips, "I like to think you're mine. Somethin' I can call my own and take care of. But you ain't. I'm not like Petyr, or Dale, or anyone else."

Anais tilted her head, her brows furrowing as she tried to process the statement she just heard. First off, she thought she'd never hear any sort of thought or even a sentence out of him. He was notorious for keeping things bottled up but this was entirely the opposite. Secondly, had he just said 'mine'? Anais felt a jitter of emotions begin to fill up in her stomach like a little pond of fish. She wasn't entirely sure how to feel about such a statement but then again, her body seemed to already know. Or was it her heart? Anais took what courage she had and shortened the few inches of distance between them – their lips now hovering, warm and the heady smell of alcohol on their breaths. Anais held her breath and placed a chaste kiss on Daryl's lips – they were dry but surprisingly warm – and after she pulled away, she wetted her lips and whispered, "This is our secret. I am yours and you are mine."

Daryl nodded breathlessly, something warm filling his stomach but a dark and possessive feeling just hiding in the distance. Before he replied, Daryl grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her back to his lips, capturing her with a bit more need, "Mine."

…

**Disclaimer****: **I don't own the Walking Dead, just Anais and Petyr.


End file.
